Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
<B><I>BREAKING NEWS:</b></i> <b>Merck Settles Vioxx Case for $950 Million</b>
Merck & Co., Inc. became the latest healthcare company to strike a major settlement with the Justice Department on Nov. 22, agreeing to pay $950 million to resolve criminal and civil charges stemming from its marketing of the painkiller Vioxx.
As part of the settlement, Merck, Sharp & Dohme, the company's U.S. unit, will plead guilty in Boston federal district court to a single misdemeanor count of violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and will pay a $321.6 million criminal fine. Merck will also pay nearly $628.3 million to settle civil allegations that it marketed Vioxx for off-label uses and made false statements about the drug's safety. (The criminal information is here, and the settlement agreement is here.)
Theodore Wells Jr. of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Jack Cinquegrana of Choate Hall & Stewart represented Merck. Wells did not respond to a request for comment, and Cinquegrana referred a request for comment to his client.
“We believe that Merck acted responsibly and in good faith in connection with the conduct at issue in these civil settlement agreements, including activities concerning the safety profile of Vioxx,” Merck general counsel Bruce Kuhlik said in a statement. The settlement also resolves claims lodged by 43 states and
the District of Columbia. The states of Alaska, Kentucky, Montana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Utah are continuing to press related claims, according to Merck.
This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
- Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
- Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
- Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
How AI Has Affected PR
When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.