Business Columnists     Business Archive Stock Spotlight: Merck & Co. August 21, 2005 Merck & Co.'s first wrongful-death verdict over its painkiller Vioxx came Friday in a case that was not seen as especially strong, and is expected to inspire thousands of more suits on top of the 4,200 already filed against the drug maker, analysts say. Analysts have already estimated Merck's liability could be as high as $18 billion, and that number could now rise. Merck & Co.'s stock sank $2.35, or 7.7 percent, to close at $28.06 Friday. The jury awarded $253.4 million in damages to a widow of a man who died in 2001 of heart arrhythmia, or irregular heart beat, after taking Vioxx.

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