The offices of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have filed a joint lawsuit against Merck over allegations that the company concealed information about the cardiovascular risks of the COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx, the Wall Street Journal reports. Merck, which withdrew Vioxx from the market in September 2004 because of safety concerns, faces about 28,000 lawsuits related to the medication in state and federal courts (Won Tesoriero, Wall Street Journal, 9/18).

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, seeks restitution for tens of millions of dollars spent on Vioxx prescriptions through the state Medicaid program and state Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Program between 1999 and 2004 (Kershaw, New York Times, 9/18). The city paid a substantial share of the cost of the Vioxx prescriptions for residents enrolled in the state Medicaid program.

The lawsuit alleges that physicians would not have prescribed Vioxx to beneficiaries with pre-existing heart problems had Merck informed them about the cardiovascular risks of the medication. According to the lawsuit, Merck "undertook a concerted and tenacious campaign of false and fraudulent statements to minimize the import and seriousness" of the cardiovascular risks of Vioxx (AP/Los Angeles Times, 9/18).

The lawsuit also alleges that "Merck tried to distort each negative disclosure about Vioxx" and "cherry-picked outcomes from its own research, omitting material information that would have communicated Vioxx's real cardiovascular dangers" (Wall Street Journal, 9/18). The state and city filed the lawsuit under a recently enacted state false claims law that allows plaintiffs to seek triple damages and civil penalties.

Comments
Cuomo in a statement said, "Merck's irresponsible and duplicitous conduct endangered the health of New Yorkers and wasted our tax dollars" (Bloomberg/Long Island Newsday, 9/18). He added, "Merck put profits above all else and put thousands at risk by continuing to push Vioxx inappropriately on doctors and patients" (Wall Street Journal, 9/18).

Bloomberg in the same statement said, "This is another step in the city's continuing litigation effort to recoup the millions of dollars in overcharges by pharmaceutical companies to the Medicaid program for prescription drugs and to protect the safety and health of New Yorkers" (Bloomberg/Long Island Newsday, 9/18).

However, Kent Jarrell, a spokesperson for Merck attorneys, said, "We are confident that our behavior has been responsible. Merck based its decisions on the data from well-controlled clinical trials and acted in the best interest of patients" (Wall Street Journal, 9/18).

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View drug information on Vioxx.