US painkiller Vioxx contributed to an Idaho postal worker’s heart attack, a jury in Atlantic City has ruled, reversing the verdict in the man’s first trial and hitting Merck with a total of $47.5m (€36m) in damages.

MERCK won a major victory in the battle over its Vioxx painkiller yesterday when a New Jersey state jury found that the drug maker properly warned consumers about the risks of the medication.

THE judge in the second Vioxx product liability trial delivered a stunning blow to Merck & Co yesterday when she struck the testimony of its first defence witness from the record.