MO to receive $13M drug company settlement

Missouri and 42 other states have reached an agreement with New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. to settle civil and criminal allegations related to its drug Vioxx.

As part of the settlement, Merck will pay the states and the federal government $615 million in civil damages and penalties to compensate Medicaid, Medicare and other federal health care programs. Missouri is receiving $13 million, according to a news release from Attorney General Chris Koster's office.

The allegations claimed the company misrepresented the cardiovascular safety issues and made false and misleading representations about Vioxx, an anti-inflammatory medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1999 for the treatment of osteoarthritis, acute pain and dysmenorrhea. On Sept. 30, 2004, Merck voluntarily withdrew Vioxx from the worldwide market, citing an increase in adverse cardiovascular reactions.

According to the release, the basis of the allegations was formed because Vioxx marketed the drug for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis prior to receiving FDA approval to do so and promoted the cardiovascular safety of the drug inaccurately.

The Missouri attorney general's office alleges that Merck falsely represented the safety of the drug to its Medicaid program, which relied on that information to its detriment in making decisions related to the drug. The state also claims Merck made false or misleading representations of Vioxx in its marketing, advertising and promotion that led physicians to write prescriptions that otherwise wouldn't have been written, causing the Medicaid program to reimburse prescription payments that it shouldn't have.

Another condition of the settlement is for Merck to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Inspector General, which will monitor the company's future marketing and sales practices, the release said.[[In-content Ad]]