Insurance plans, other third-party payers settle Vioxx claims with drugmaker Merck for $80M

LINDA A. JOHNSON | AP Business Writer
3:17 PM CDT, August 3, 2009

TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) — Health insurers, unions and other private groups that paid for prescriptions for withdrawn painkiller Vioxx have reached an $80 million settlement with its maker, ending another part of the multipronged litigation.

Such third-party payers had filed about 190 claims against New Jersey-based drugmaker Merck & Co. They said they would not have covered Vioxx had they known about its cardiovascular risks, which they argued Merck concealed.

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