NEW ORLEANS — More than 44,000 people have signed up for shares of a $4.85 billion settlement over the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, a sign that the deal is on track to go forward, Merck & Co. announced Monday.
Of roughly 47,000 people who registered for the settlement this year, more than 44,000 have submitted all or some of the paperwork necessary for enrollment in the deal, Merck said in a news release.
People who enrolled in the settlement by Friday could be eligible to receive an interim payment this year.
Whitehouse Station, N.J. based Merck has said it will withdraw from the agreement unless at least 85 percent of people in different groups of claimants join in the settlement.
Those thresholds would be met — and exceed 93 percent of eligible claims in each of four key categories — if all of the more than 44,000 submissions are verified, the company said.
“We are very pleased with the large number of enrollments we are seeing and are confident that when the enrollments are verified, all 85 percent thresholds will be met and exceeded within the time frames in the agreement,” Ted Mayer, a lawyer for Merck, said in a statement.
Andy Birchfield, one of the lead plaintiffs’ attorneys, said the enrollment figures are “extremely encouraging.”
“These numbers reflect near universal acceptance of the program,” he said. “It’s overwhelming support.”
Another 5,000 claimants whose eligibility is less certain have submitted paperwork for enrollment, according to Merck.
