NEW YORK, NY September 18, 2007 —The city and state have joined forces to sue the pharmaceutical company Merck, for allegedly misrepresenting the risks of their painkiller Vioxx. WNYC's Kathleen Horan has more.

REPORTER: In a joint statement, Mayor Bloomberg and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said that the lawsuit was filed against New Jersey-based Merck for not fully disclosing the dangers the drug Vioxx posed to its customers.

REPORTER: The state spent more than $100 million on Vioxx since 1999 before it was pulled from the shelves 3 years ago. It was discontinued after research showed it increased the risk of heart disease and strokes in its users.

REPORTER: The suit seeks damages and civil penalties because the drug would not have been prescribed or purchased had information about those risks been shared. It marks the first time the city and state have brought a joint action to fight Medicaid fraud.

REPORTER: A Merck spokesman says the company studied Vioxx before and after receiving FDA approval and it acted responsibly from researching the drug to monitoring it, and volunteering to pull the medicine when it did. For WNYC, I'm Kathleen Horan.