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Latest Vioxx Revelation Is Message to Congress on Bird Flu: Don’t give immunity to negligent drug companies

(Monday, December 12, 2005) - On Thursday, the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that the authors of a Merck-funded study of Vioxx altered the results to conceal that three additional patients in the study suffered heart attacks while using the drug. The Journal took the unusual step of demanding that the study’s authors submit a correction showing the true extent of the cardiac risks of Vioxx.

“The revelation that Merck altered the results of a Vioxx study is yet more evidence that Merck hid the dangers of Vioxx and yet another reason Congress should reject Merck’s demand for special liability protections for its vaccines,” said Ken Suggs, President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA).

The Journal’s editorial further confirms that Merck misled doctors and the public about the cardiac risks of Vioxx, a drug that killed as many as 55,000 people, according to the congressional testimony of FDA scientist David Graham.

In October of this year, Merck’s CEO and the CEOs of four other vaccine manufacturers met personally with President Bush to ask for immunity from liability if they produce dangerous or deadly vaccines.

“As evidence has piled up over the last two months that Merck knowingly covered up the dangers of Vioxx, the company has been lobbying the President and Congress for special protections if its drugs or vaccines kill or injure people again,” said Suggs.

Currently, Senator Bill Frist and leaders in Congress are attempting to slip broad immunity for vaccine makers into an appropriations conference report, such as for Department of Defense spending. Their proposal would prohibit Americans from holding manufacturers like Merck accountable if they commit gross negligence or distribute a deadly or contaminated vaccine to the American public during a pandemic.

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As the world's largest trial bar, ATLA promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, defends the constitutional right to trial by jury, and strengthens the civil justice system through education and disclosure of information critical to public health and safety. With 60,000 members worldwide, ATLA provides lawyers with the information and professional assistance they need to serve clients successfully and protect the democratic values of the civil justice system.