44,000 Sign Up for Vioxx Settlement

MSNBC (via AP) reports that 44,000 people have submitted all of the necessary paperwork to participate in the $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement.  85% of eligible claimants had to participate to keep the deal alive.

“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 timeframes in the agreement,” Ted Mayer, a lawyer for Merck, said in a statement.

– SBS