NJ jury hands Merck major victory

In a major victory for Merck, a New Jersey jury found the drugmaker not guilty in the lawsuit brought by Frederick "Mike" Humeston, an Idaho postal worker who suffered a heart attack in 2001 after taking Voixx. The jury came to the decision after seven weeks of testimony and 7.5 hours of deliberation. An additional 6,400 suits were filed against Merck in August after a Texas jury found the company guilty in a similar case. Under Texas law, the $253.4 million verdict in that case will be capped at $26 million, and Merck plans to appeal. Today's win could go a long way in protecting the pharmaceutical giant from billions of dollars in liability from those additional suits.

- read this report [1] from the AP