Claris Law Legal Blogging Community

Editor: Mike Bothwell
Profession: Qui Tam Attorney

Category: Qui Tam Legal News

In the first New York state False Claims Act case, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have filed a joint suit against Merck & Co. alleging it actively marketing the drug Vioxx to New York doctors while misrepresenting the drug's dangers, causing Medicaid to spend over $100 million on Vioxx prescriptions between 1999 and 2004.

The lawsuit seeks treble damages and civil penalties for taxpayer dollars spent on Vioxx prescriptions. Despite early clinical trials showing Vioxx caused a high risk of heart attacks, Merck is charged with ramping up its marketing of Vioxx by adding 700 representatives to its national sales force and engaging a total of 3,000 in marketing the drug directly to doctors. The lawsuit charges that Merck gave its sales force explicit instructions to downplay or distort data when questioned about Vioxx's potential for cardiovascular risk. Thus, had the doctors been properly informed of the risks, the suit alleges that the doctors would not have prescribed Vioxx and Medicaid would not have paid for its dispensation.