Plaintiff Moves to Exclude Evidence of Merck's 'Naproxen Theory'

NEW ORLEANS - The plaintiff in an upcoming federal Vioxx trial has filed a motion to exclude testimony by Merck experts indicating that data showing a nearly five-fold increase in cardiovascular events among Vioxx users in 2000 can be explained by the cardioprotective qualities of the painkiller naproxen. Plunkett v. Merck & Co. Inc., No. 05-4046 (E.D. La.).

In a motion filed Oct. 21 in U.S. District for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Evelyn Irvin Plunkett maintains that the so-called 'naproxen theory' shouldn't be heard by jurors because it isn't supported by any scientific or epidemiological study that would render …