Associated Press, "Two state trials down, first federal trial next up for Merck"

          With Merck & Co. now 1-and-1 in state lawsuits over its Vioxx painkiller, the world's No. 5 drug maker may face higher stakes later this month in the first federal trial of charges that it knowingly rushed a potentially lethal drug to market to pocket billions in profits.
          The federal Vioxx trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 29 in Houston, just 40 miles north of the state court where Texas jurors last August slapped Merck with a $253 million verdict in the first Vioxx trial in the nation. Texas caps on punitive damages will cut that amount to no more than $26.1 million.
          Jere Beasley, lead lawyer for the plaintiff in the first federal trial, said his team was undaunted by the New Jersey verdict. "We will prove our case in Texas and let a jury decide whether or not our client should receive a verdict in her case. What happened in New Jersey -- the home base of Merck -- won't have any effect on us in my opinion," he said.