As you may know, Merck & Co., Inc. on November 9 announced that it has entered into an agreement with the law firms that comprise the executive committee of the Plaintiff's Steering Committee of the federal multidistrict VIOXX litigation as well as representatives of plaintiffs' counsel in state coordinated proceedings to resolve state and federal myocardial infarction (MI) (heart attack) and ischemic stroke claims already filed against the Company in the United States.  The agreement was signed by the parties this morning after they met with three of four judges overseeing the coordination of more than 95 percent of the current claims in the VIOXX litigation.

If certain conditions under the agreement are met, the Company will pay a fixed amount of $4.85 billion into a settlement fund for qualifying claims that enter into the resolution process.  This is not a class-action settlement.  Claims will be evaluated on an individual basis.

The conditions in the agreement, which is open only to those cases filed or tolled on or before Nov. 8, 2007, include:

1.  To qualify, claimants will have to pass three gates:  an injury gate requiring objective, medical proof of MI or ischemic stroke (as define din the agreement), a duration gate based on documented receipt of at least 30 VIOXX pills, and a proximity gate requiring receipt of pills in sufficient number and closeness to the event to support a presumption of having taken VIOXX within 14 days before the claimed injury.

2.  Individual cases will be examined by administrators of the claim settlement process to determine qualification based on objective, documented facts provided by claimants, including records sufficient for a scientific evaluation of independent risk factors.

3.  The agreement provides that Merck does not admit causation or fault.

4.  Neither stoke claims that are hemorrhagic in nature nor transient ischemic attacks will qualify.

5.  Law firms on the federal and state Plaintiffs' Steering Committees and firms that have tried cases in the coordinated proceedings must recommended enrollment in the program to 100 percent of their clients who allege either MI or ischemic stroke.

6.  The parties agree to seek court orders form the four coordination judges requiring plaintiffs' attorneys to promptly register all of their VIOXX claims, whether filed or tolled, and to identify the alleged injury in order to establish the universe of all existing claims in the United States.

7.  Participation conditions: payment obligations under the agreement will be triggered only if, by March 1, 2008 (subject to extension by Merck), plaintiffs enroll in the settlement process:  (a) 85 percent or more of all currently pending and tolled MI claims, (b) 85 percent or more of all currently pending and tolled ischemic stroke claims; (c) 85 percent or more of all eligible claims involving a death; and (d) 85 percent or more of all eligible claims alleging more than 12 months of use.

8.  This agreement applies only to U.S. legal residents and those who allege that their MI or ischemic stroke occurred in the United States.