Merck attempts to defend its psotion
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Merck Expert Defends Positions in Vioxx Case
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Email This StoryPrint This Story Oct 19, 2005 3:43 pm US/Eastern(1010 WINS) (Atlantic City, NJ) Defending his opinions during a spirited cross-examination, an expert cardiologist who says Vioxx wasn't to blame for a postal worker's 2001 heart attack acknowledged Wednesday he was unsure whether the man had a family history of heart disease.Testifying for Merck & Co., maker of the since-withdrawn painkiller, Dr. Theodore Tyberg returned to the stand in Frederick ``Mike'' Humeston's product liability case. Humeston attorney Moshe Horn showed jurors two medical records that said Humeston's family members had no history of cardiac ailments.Tyberg said he based his testimony Tuesday on a 2002 medical record from Humeston's orthopedic doctor, which said the man's mother died of a heart attack when she was in her mid-70s.Horn grilled Tyberg over why he didn't tell jurors about medical records, from 1981 and 2001, in which cardiologists said there was no such family history. The latter, from Humeston's hospital visit the night of his Sept. 18, 2001 heart attack, said his mother had cancer.``That doesn't say she didn't have a heart attack,'' Tyberg said.``They didn't say she did, either,'' said Horn.The back-and-forth was one of several testy, rapid-fire exchanges in morning testimony, which at one point prompted the court stenographer to ask Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee to stop Tyberg and Horn from talking at the same time.Humeston, 60, of Boise, Idaho, is one of about 6,500 former Vioxx users suing Merck over the drug, which it pulled off the market in September 2004 after long-term use was linked to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.Horn also questioned Tyberg about his claim that stress from an ongoing probe of Humeston by U.S. Postal Service investigators helped trigger the heart attack. The night before he fell ill, Humeston was called by his physician, Dr. Gregory Lewer, after a Postal Service investigator and a doctor showed Lewer a surveillance videotape of Humeston. It was taken in a bid to show Humeston _ who had work restrictions because of a Vietnam War knee injury _ was able to work more.``I believe the phone call was the absolute trigger,'' Tyberg said.The first Vioxx trial in August resulted in a multimillion-dollar verdict for a Vioxx user's widow in Texas. Damages will be cut to about one-tenth of the jury's $253 million award due to that state's caps on punitive damages. The pharmaceutical company has vowed to appeal.Merck shares were down 17 cents to $26.88 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Merck Expert Defends Positions in Vioxx Case
Related Links
Merck
Email This StoryPrint This Story Oct 19, 2005 3:43 pm US/Eastern(1010 WINS) (Atlantic City, NJ) Defending his opinions during a spirited cross-examination, an expert cardiologist who says Vioxx wasn't to blame for a postal worker's 2001 heart attack acknowledged Wednesday he was unsure whether the man had a family history of heart disease.Testifying for Merck & Co., maker of the since-withdrawn painkiller, Dr. Theodore Tyberg returned to the stand in Frederick ``Mike'' Humeston's product liability case. Humeston attorney Moshe Horn showed jurors two medical records that said Humeston's family members had no history of cardiac ailments.Tyberg said he based his testimony Tuesday on a 2002 medical record from Humeston's orthopedic doctor, which said the man's mother died of a heart attack when she was in her mid-70s.Horn grilled Tyberg over why he didn't tell jurors about medical records, from 1981 and 2001, in which cardiologists said there was no such family history. The latter, from Humeston's hospital visit the night of his Sept. 18, 2001 heart attack, said his mother had cancer.``That doesn't say she didn't have a heart attack,'' Tyberg said.``They didn't say she did, either,'' said Horn.The back-and-forth was one of several testy, rapid-fire exchanges in morning testimony, which at one point prompted the court stenographer to ask Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee to stop Tyberg and Horn from talking at the same time.Humeston, 60, of Boise, Idaho, is one of about 6,500 former Vioxx users suing Merck over the drug, which it pulled off the market in September 2004 after long-term use was linked to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.Horn also questioned Tyberg about his claim that stress from an ongoing probe of Humeston by U.S. Postal Service investigators helped trigger the heart attack. The night before he fell ill, Humeston was called by his physician, Dr. Gregory Lewer, after a Postal Service investigator and a doctor showed Lewer a surveillance videotape of Humeston. It was taken in a bid to show Humeston _ who had work restrictions because of a Vietnam War knee injury _ was able to work more.``I believe the phone call was the absolute trigger,'' Tyberg said.The first Vioxx trial in August resulted in a multimillion-dollar verdict for a Vioxx user's widow in Texas. Damages will be cut to about one-tenth of the jury's $253 million award due to that state's caps on punitive damages. The pharmaceutical company has vowed to appeal.Merck shares were down 17 cents to $26.88 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
posted by Chris Placitella at 6:41 AM
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