Anti-arthritis drug stirs action

A CLASS action has been launched on behalf of hundreds of Australians who suffered heart attacks and strokes after taking the anti-arthritis drug Vioxx.

Lawyers Slater and Gordon yesterday filed a writ in the Supreme Court of Victoria seeking damages for at least 400 victims, including relatives of up to 50 people who died while using the drug.

They are seeking compensation against US drug manufacturer Merck & Co Inc and its Australian subsidiary Merck Sharp & Dohme Australia, who assembled, marketed and distributed the tablets.

The class action comes after Vioxx was withdrawn from sale under a global recall on September 30, last year.

About 250,000 Australians used the drug before it was recalled.

Slater and Gordon lawyer Richard Meeran said the law suit was a “compelling legal case” because the product was defective, a fact he said the companies were aware of almost from the outset of its distribution to the public.