Vioxx Product Liability Litigation

With Johnson & Perkinson as a member of the Purchase Claims Committee, Plaintiffs are litigating economic claims on behalf of purchasers of the Merck, Inc. pharmaceutical Vioxx in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Purchase Claims Master Class Action Complaint (the "Complaint") alleges that Defendants caused economic damages to third party payors and end users of Vioxx who purchased or paid for the prescription drug Vioxx® as a result of Defendants misrepresentations of the safety profile of the drug. Johnson & Perkinson originally filed a Complaint on behalf of Vioxx® purchasers in Vermont.

Plaintiffs filed the Complaint on August 1, 2005. After the parties fully briefed a Motion to Dismiss the claims by Defendants, the Court held a hearing on the Motion on February 2, 2006. The Motion is still pending, and the parties are engaged in discovery in the context of the greater consolidated proceedings.