Merck & Co's, Vioxx, which was once the best seller, has been abstained from sale after it was learnt that it doubled the risks of heart attacks.

A patient was compensated with a huge amount after he revealed that the drug had caused him a heart attack.

Similar stories surfaced claiming that the medicine had lead to heart attacks in many hundreds of Australians. It was, therefore, refrained in 2004 all over the world.

The drug maker settled thousand of claims by paying $4.85 billion who had suffered heart attacks or strokes after consuming Vioxx.

However, it was surprising that the Melbourne court dismissed lawsuits against Merck saying that the maker was not careless in the development, study and sale of Vioxx.

Meanwhile, Merck is planning for expansion. It intends to shift its headquarters from New Jersey to Billerica.

The company has pledged to take care of the safety issues with all its products after Vioxx problems.

It has already done with most of the settlements related to Vioxx. It has also registered clinical experiments with the Government.

The company also intends to revise previous policies and procedures.

A final hearing of the case is fixed for March 22 in New Jersey Superior Court in Atlantic City.