Vioxx not fit for sale, judge rules

Will Merck be allowed to get away with murder? Here's hoping there will be justice for those whose lives and families have been blighted by Merck products - not just Vioxx - but all the other drugs and vaccines whose profitability was considered to be more important than their safety.

Hundreds of Australians could now take legal action against US pharmaceutical giant Merck after a judge found its arthritis drug Vioxx was not fit for sale because it doubled the risk of heart attack.

Federal Court judge Christopher Jessup awarded $287,000 compensation on Friday to Victorian grandfather Graeme Peterson who claimed the drug caused him to have a heart attack in 2003.

Law firm Slater and Gordon said it already knew of 500 Australians who could make similar claims and believes there are hundreds more, which could cost Merck up to $300 million.

Mr Peterson, of Langwarrin, vowed to continue fighting for the rights of other affected Vioxx users.

"I am still bitter. There are people dying that have waited and there is still people dying.I am one of the lucky ones, I have survived. Sure it has affected my life, but I have still got my life. How many other people out there haven't?"

Justice Jessup found Vioxx was "not of merchantable quality" and was not fit for the purpose of arthritic relief.

"I have concluded that, across a population the consumption of Vioxx about doubled the risk of heart attack," Justice Jessup said.