Vioxx Settlement: The U.S. Justice Department said Merck agreed to pay $950 million and plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor charge to resolve allegations that the company promoted its now-defunct pain drug Vioxx for rheumatoid arthritis before the FDA approved it for that use, the WSJ reports . Merck had reserved that amount last year to cover the settlement. The settlement includes a payment of about $628 million to settle civil allegations that Merck representatives made inaccurate statements about Vioxx’s cardiovascular safety to boost sales, but Merck denies those allegations and is admitting no wrongdoing or liability, the paper says. Health Spending: A report from the OECD finds (again) that the U.S. outspends other developed countries when it comes to health care, thanks to higher prices and more frequent use of procedures like knee replacement and angioplasty, Kaiser Health News reports . The report also finds that the U.S. has fewer

practicing doctors and hospital beds per capita than other developed countries, KHN says. Shopping Study: Fifty shoppers will wear a biometric-tracking sensor on their wrists when they tackle post-Thanksgiving sales on Friday, part of an effort by a market-research firm to understand the emotional states and stresses associated with shopping both on- and offline, the WSJ reports . Still, the Advertising Research Foundation has said that “neuromarketing” is still experimental and can’t supplant standard market research. Statin Safety: Research covering 20,000 patients and published online in the Lancet finds no increased risk of non-vascular mortality or cancer associated with the long-term use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, Reuters reports . The study also found a 23% lower risk of heart attack, stroke and vascular disease after five years in those who took the drugs. Image: iStockphoto

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A.M. Vitals: Merck to Pay $950 Million to Settle Vioxx Marketing Charges