Apparently, Merck exists even though it does not care for either. After Vioxx killed as many as 60,000 Americans (and many more all over the globe), Merck literally got away with murder. It paid a measly sum to families of dead Americans, and moved on.

As everyone knows, Merck is a company with no ethics at all. Not only did it hide the dangers of Vioxx from patients and physicians (actually it had a well-organized campaign to mislead them, that also included a publication of a faux medical journal that sang praises of Vioxx), it also hid the risks to the company from shareholders.

Vioxx recall related shareholder lawsuits went nowhere while the Merck stock which was trading at 40+ before the recall fell to 20s. Billions were lost in shareholder value.

Thankfully, the US Supreme Court will now here if Merck also misled its investors.

Products covered by the FDA action include acetaminophen, and a class of drugs known as the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). These include aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and ketoprofen.

Acetaminophen is in a class by itself. The revised labeling applies to all OTC pain relievers and fever reducers, including those that contain one of these ingredients in combination with other ingredients, such as in cold medicines containing pain relievers or fever reducers.

People sometimes take more acetaminophen than the labeling recommends. Others unknowingly take multiple products containing acetaminophen at the same time. Exceeding the recommended dosage of acetaminophen may increase the risks for severe liver damage. Alcohol use can also increase the risk of liver damage with acetaminophen.

The risk for stomach bleeding may increase in people who use NSAIDs and who are taking blood-thinning drugs (anticoagulants) or steroids.

Pfizer Inc., that still sells Celebrex after Bextra was banned for personal injuries to thousands of people, will pay close to one billion US dollars in compensation. The checks are expected to be issued by the end of 2008. Victims are advised to discuss this with their attorney to find out the logistics of receiving the payment.

A recently released report has further confirmed the risks of NSAIDs and arthritis patients should discuss with their attorneys their options for switching to safer painkillers.

“The good news is that, after a year, the risk seemed to go back down toward normal,” Dr. Bresalier said.

What is even more important to know that the whole class of NSAID is equally dangerous and that includes banned drug Bextra and still available Celebrex. Then your typical over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve) are quite dangerous as well.

Dr. Allen D. Sawitzke, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, has concluded that glucosamine and chondroitin are no better than a placebo at preventing cartilage loss in knees of people with the form of arthritis caused by wear and tear.

Ouch! That is pretty devastating news for all those people who have been popping these supplements in hopes that they might work.

The only good news in the study is that glucosamine may help some people with osteoarthritis.

That’s not the case. Merck is nothing a bunch of crooks running a so-called scam operations by calling their pills as drugs. In the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, it has been revealed that the Advantage trial was not to test the side effects of Vioxx but was instead market research to promote the use of the painkiller. These people make Victoria Knight-McDowell look like an angel — Airborne didn’t work but it didn’t kill nobody.

So what does it mean?

Well, if you have already accepted the settlement, you can only bitch about Merck & Company (MRK). But you can do other things, like, always asking your pharmacist about the manufacturer of a drug so that you can ask for a replacement since Merck drugs can no longer be trusted. Also, if you are in situation where you have to hire a Merck employee, you should stop yourself from doing so. You are likely to have someone with no ethics at all.

Vioxx killed as many as 60,000 Americans but since most of the victims were old and suffered from common illnesses that affect Americans who live unhealthy lifestyles, Merck attorneys exploited that. By spending almost $2 billion on attorneys, it got a settlement in its favor that gives only peanuts to the victims. The attorneys representing the plaintiffs are all too happy to move on.

You, or family members of the deceased are eligible for compensation if the patient suffered a heart attack, stroke or death. Of course, a lawsuit must have been filed too. If you meet the criteria, money should arrive in your bank account soon and for personal updates, stay in touch with your Vioxx attorney.

The legal system, though, works in interesting ways, particularly if you hire great attorneys and victims have a weak case because like most Americans they love food more than their health.

Since two out of three Americans are out of shape and it is common to see cases of heart problems and diabetes, particularly among those who also suffered from arthritis, Merck exploited their medical histories to prove their drug was not the cause.

In a very sad development, a Texas appeals court agreed with the drugmaker that Robert Ernst did not die due to Vioxx and his wife Carol Ernst is not entitled to the quarter billion dollar damages that she initially won. In a similar case, Thomas Cona and John McDarby also lost their cases. As of now, just three cases have gone in favor of victims as the company has decided to settle the rest. In yet another victory, Merck will no longer have to pay for medical monitoring of Vioxx users not claiming injury.

Obviously, it is a great setback to consumers since pharmaceutical firms can now knowingly sell unsafe drugs and if people get killed, they have not much to lose.

Pfizer, the other company in the painkiller business, was a smaller evil, killing fewer people with its deadly painkillers Bextra and Celebrex. While the FDA forced a recall of Bextra, it put the worst possible black box safety rating on Celebrex, which is still available but not being used by any arthritis patient who wishes to live.

Learning from Merck, Pfizer is now quietly settling lawsuits relating to Bextra and Celebrex. The Times reports that the company is offering settlement amounts of $40,000 to $50,000. If you are one of the victims of these two painkillers, it may be time to approach your attorney to discuss if receiving a cash compensation may be a better option than going against a pharmaceutical company that does not care much about human life and would rather sell a deadly drug and settle later than to develop a safe drug.

It is expected that most of these victims will receive an interim payment later this year and the balance will be handed out later.

Merck had struck a deal with attorneys that left basically no choice for the plaintiffs but to join the settlement and receive whatever small amounts the company was handing out since these victims would have had difficulty finding lawyers to argue their cases.

It is estimated that as many as 60,000 Americans were killed by Vioxx and more than 140,000 suffered personal injuries.