In a crucial development this week in the ongoing multidistrict litigation against Merck & Co., a federal judge in North Carolina granted the plaintiffs’ motion to compel adverse reaction data for the company’s Gardasil HPV-vaccine, which faces challenges to both its safety and efficacy.
The plaintiffs have alleged adverse effects from the vaccine, such as neurological and autoimmune diseases such as Pott’s (tuberculous spondylitis). Merck is also accused of intentionally misrepresenting Gardasil’s value.