Merck & Co. is about to face a jury trial defending against a claim that Merck advertisements misrepresented that the Gardasil vaccine was safe and effective. The jury will determine whether the drug giant hid the risks and side effects associated with its lucrative HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine marketed to children and young adults.1

Merck received more than $8 billion dollars in the last two years from sales of its Gardasil vaccine, which was marketed as a safe and effective prevention of HPV. Plaintiff's lawyer Mark Lanier, who has previously won multiple million-dollar lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, warned:

This case has monumental significance to public health and the ways we trust companies who produce vaccines.2