Merck confident will meet Vioxx settlement goals

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) expressed confidence it will reach the goals necessary to set a $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement in motion, as thousands of potential participants registered to become eligible by Tuesday's midnight deadline.

While the final tally was not yet available, Merck said on Wednesday that law firms representing more than 55,000 plaintiffs had registered their claims. Administrators were in the process of verifying the claims and dividing them into Vioxx users who suffered heart attacks and those who suffered strokes after taking the pain medicine.

Only those who registered by the deadline will then have the option to take part in the settlement. Merck needs 85 percent of registered plaintiffs to sign on to the settlement in each category or the deal falls apart. It could be several months before it is known if that goal has been achieved.

"We expect to meet and exceed the 85 percent in both categories. We just don't know when that will occur," said Kent Jarrell, a spokesman for Merck's legal team.

He said tallying up the registrants was merely building the foundation for the rest of the settlement process.

Attorneys for Merck and plaintiffs will be in federal court in New Orleans on Friday to give a status report on the registration and settlement process to U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon, who had overseen all federal Vioxx trials.

They may also discuss a controversial aspect of the pact under which attorneys must recommend the deal to 100 percent of their Vioxx clients or withdraw from representing them.