Most media reports have suggested that Merck is not faring well in the wrongful death suit over Vioxx after two weeks of testimony generally hostile to the drug maker. But now the drug company gets its turn, as Merck lawyers introduce witnesses of their own. On Monday, the head of pathology at the Baylor College of Medicine testified that he does not think Vioxx was to blame for the death of Robert Ernst in 2001. Dr. Thomas Wheeler said he thinks hardened arteries, not Vioxx, were responsible for the arrhythmia which killed Ernst.
- see this story from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)
PLUS: Who is really ahead in Ernst v. Merck? Don't ask the media, argues In the Pipeline's Derek Lowe. Blog