Vioxx trial enters it's final days in NJ

Another week comes and goes in the NJ Vioxx trial, with the last stages of the defense case being methodically put in, which the general buzz being that the defense is doing a substantially better job raising doubts about the causation of the injury, and also defending the procedures followed by Merck.

Barry Gertz, Merck's VP of clinical science was clearly scoring points on the issue of the labeling and FDA warning, or lack of warning, on bottles of Vioxx. As many observers are aware, Merck only carried the "precautions" as opposed to a stricter FDA warning, and it was apparent that this fact registered with the jury.

Judge Carol Higbee said the trial might wrap up this week. The WSJ has a nice summary of the last two days of the trial, as well as what looks to be a maneuver by Merck to try and get the 2005 FDA memo introduced. This memo gives the impression that Vioxx was no more dangerous then other anti-inflammatory, and it was not allowed in earlier in the trial. Keeping this memo out will no doubt be a major goal of Chris Seeger and his team in the week ahead.