New York to Get $61M in Drug Company Settlement on Vioxx

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says New York will get $61 million from last week’s national settlement with drug maker Merck & Co. to resolve an investigation into the marketing of the painkiller Vioxx.

A federal court has accepted Merck’s guilty plea to one misdemeanor count of violating marketing laws.

The Justice Department says the Whitehouse Station, N.J., company marketed Vioxx as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis without federal approval for almost three years and made false settlements about its cardiovascular safety.

The drug was taken off the market in September 2004 after evidence showed it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The company says the government recognized Merck’s cooperation, and it recorded a $950 million charge in October 2010 in anticipation of the settlement agreements.