A Merck executive denied today she tried to pressure one of the nation's top cardiologists into not publishing an article in a highly respected medical journal raising concerns that Vioxx could cause heart attacks and strokes.

NPR.org, December 6, 2005 – In the first full day of defense testimony at the federal Vioxx trial in Houston, witnesses for drug manufacturer Merck presented the company and its scientists as careful, methodical and, above all, concerned about the safety of the users of its drugs.

Witnesses for drug manufacturer Merck presented the company and its scientists as careful, methodical and, above all, concerned about the safety of the users of its drugs.

A doctor who has analyzed the effects of Vioxx on the heart denied today that four studies that he says showed the link in low-dose use were statistically insignificant.

HOUSTON – Many of Merck’s own studies in Vioxx produced data indicating that the painkiller increase risks of hear attacks, even if taken over a short period of time, an epidemiologist testified on behalf of plaintiffs in a federal case here.

U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon on Tuesday ruled that plaintiff attorneys can present as evidence a videotaped deposition from a Cleveland Clinic Cardiologist who has criticized how Merck handled the market withdrawal of the COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx in the first federal lawsuit related to the me…

Merck hid the health risks of Vioxx to protect profit, a lawyer representing the family of a man who died after using the pain reliever for 23 days told jurors yesterday in the first federal trial over the drug.

The litigation over injury claims from withdrawn painkiller Vioxx enters a critical new phase today, as manufacturer Merck faces its first trial in federal court.

Jury selection began in Houston on Tuesday in the latest high stakes legal battle for Merck & and its first in a federal courtroom.

Merck & Co., with one victory and one loss in Vioxx lawsuits tried in state courts, may win the first federal trial over the painkiller, lawyers said.