The defense has rested in the nation's first Vioxx trial, and the case is being turned over to a jury. According to one analyst at the trial, the odds don't look good for Merck, which had fiercely defended its handling of the Cox-2 inhibitor. A sizable award against the giant drug maker could send its stock down about 5 percent, the analyst estimated. Merck faces some 4,000 lawsuits and has set aside $675 million to defend itself. Government officials have estimated that Vioxx hurt or killed 139,000 people.
- read this report from the Boston Globe for more