Victory for Merck in First Federal Vioxx Trial

The jury in the first Vioxx trial in federal court cleared Vioxx manufacturer Merck & Co., Inc. of any liability in connection with the heart attack and death of a 53-year old Florida man who had taken the prescription painkiller for less than a month. A mistrial in the same case had been declared in December 2005, after the first jury was unable to reach a verdict.