News Summary: Merck settles cholesterol drug suits

FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2007 file photo, a CBS Corp. logo is silhouetted in Las Vegas. CBS reports its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Truck driver Jimmy Mayes holds his chihuahua, Coco, while waiting to pick up a load at a truck stop Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Atlanta. Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A sign on the back of a truck advertises job openings at a truck stop Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Atlanta. Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Cards advertising truck driving opportunities stand on display at a truck stop Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Atlanta. Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Truck driver Earliest Madir waits to pick up a load at a truck stop Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Atlanta. Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A poster promoting truck drivers hangs inside a truck stop Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Atlanta. Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 file photo, a plane flies over downtown Los Angeles. A look at the route maps of US Airways and American Airlines shows that the merger between the two carriers is mostly complimentary. US Airways gives American a much bigger presence in key East Coast cities and gives US Airways a longer overseas reach. That’s important in an age when the market is dominated by a new breed of mega-airlines that promise to whisk passengers around the globe with ease. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
A U.S. Airways jet passes an American Airlines jet, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. The merger of the two airlines has given birth to a mega airline with more passengers than any other in the world. (AP Photo/Matt York)
FILE - In this June 23, 2008 file photo, a US Airways jet takes off as an American Airlines jet is prepped for takeoff at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. The merger of US Airways and American Airlines has given birth to a mega airline with more passengers than any other in the world. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2007 file photo, a CBS Corp. logo is silhouetted in Las Vegas. CBS reports its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2007 file photo, a CBS Corp. logo is silhouetted in Las Vegas. CBS reports its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Truck driver Jimmy Mayes holds his chihuahua, Coco, while waiting to pick up a load at a truck stop Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Atlanta. Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A sign on the back of a truck advertises job openings at a truck stop Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Atlanta. Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Cards advertising truck driving opportunities stand on display at a truck stop Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Atlanta. Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Truck driver Earliest Madir waits to pick up a load at a truck stop Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Atlanta. Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A poster promoting truck drivers hangs inside a truck stop Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Atlanta. Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 file photo, a plane flies over downtown Los Angeles. A look at the route maps of US Airways and American Airlines shows that the merger between the two carriers is mostly complimentary. US Airways gives American a much bigger presence in key East Coast cities and gives US Airways a longer overseas reach. That’s important in an age when the market is dominated by a new breed of mega-airlines that promise to whisk passengers around the globe with ease. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
A U.S. Airways jet passes an American Airlines jet, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. The merger of the two airlines has given birth to a mega airline with more passengers than any other in the world. (AP Photo/Matt York)
FILE - In this June 23, 2008 file photo, a US Airways jet takes off as an American Airlines jet is prepped for takeoff at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. The merger of US Airways and American Airlines has given birth to a mega airline with more passengers than any other in the world. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

News Summary: Merck settles cholesterol drug suits

Print Page Updated: 10:50:25 PM, Thu 14 February 2013

SUIT SETTLEMENT: Drugmaker agreed to pay $688 million to settle two investor lawsuits over a long delay in releasing results of a study meant to show its blockbuster cholesterol drugs reduced plaque buildup in arteries. But it found that 's Zetia and Vytorin were no better than a cheap generic pill.

MERCK RESPONSE: Merck admits no wrongdoing and said it was in its best interest to end the suits.

FINANCIAL IMPACT: Merck took a $493 million charge and restated its 2012 financial results, reducing earnings per share by 16 cents each for the fourth quarter and the full year.

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