Hung jury could spell trouble for Merck

Yesterday's hung jury could be bad news for Merck since analysts expected a positive outcome in the company's first federal Vioxx case. Federal courts are more business-friendly, which should have worked in Merck's favor. More importantly though, the case in question involved the death of a short-term Vioxx user, Richard "Dicky" Irvin, who died after he took the drug for only 22 days. A single juror refused to rule in favor of Merck despite the fact that Vioxx was found to increase the risk of heart attacks in long-term users. Merck has maintained that there was no risk associated with short-term use of the pain medication.

- read this article from the Houston Chronicle for more reaction to the mistrial

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