In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation

This multidistrict products liability litigation involves the prescription drug Vioxx,
known generically as Rofecoxib. Merck & Co., Inc. (“Merck”), a New Jersey corporation,
researched, designed, manufactured, marketed, and distributed Vioxx to relieve pain and
inflammation resulting from osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, menstrual pain, and migraine
headaches. On May 20, 1999, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approved Vioxx for
sale in the United States. Vioxx remained on the market until September 30, 2004, at which time Merck withdrew it from the market when data from a clinical trial known as APPROVe
indicated that the use of Vioxx increased the risk of cardiovascular thrombotic events such as
myocardial infarctions (heart attacks) and ischemic strokes. Thereafter, thousands of individual
suits and numerous class actions were filed against Merck in state and federal courts throughout
the country alleging various tort and products liability claims. It is estimated that 105 million
prescriptions for Vioxx were written in the United States between May 20, 1999 and September
30, 2004. Based on this estimate, it is thought that approximately 20 million patients have taken
Vioxx in the United States.

On February 16, 2005, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”) conferred
multidistrict litigation status on Vioxx lawsuits filed in federal court and transferred all such
cases to this Court to coordinate discovery and to consolidate pretrial matters pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1407. See 360 F. Supp. 2d 1352. This multidistrict litigation is designated MDL-1657
and is captioned In re Vioxx Products Liability Litigation. The first status conference in this
MDL was held on March 18, 2005. Shortly thereafter, the Court appointed committees of
counsel to represent the parties and discovery in this litigation commenced. Conferences to review the status of the proceedings and to deal with various issues coming before the Court
have been held on a monthly basis.