What’s new: In brief (October 06, 2004)

As expected, drug maker Merck is already facing lawsuits after pulling its pain medication Vioxx from the shelves. The company announced the move last week, in response to concerns over the drug’s side effects. Vioxx is used widely by arthritis sufferers. One class action suit, filed in the Illinois courts by Chicago-based Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, cites over 24 million users of the drug worldwide. In that suit, amongst the goals is to establish a “medial monitoring fund” for people who have suffered no side effects as yet to be compensated for actions to monitor for potential problems.

Guelph-based Co-operators General Insurance says it has signed a five-year contract with CGI Group to continue provision of the insurer’s data center. This includes help desk support, application hosting and software distribution.

The 2005 RIMS Canada Conference has been set for Montreal, Quebec, at the Palais des Congres. Organizers Daniel Desjardins and Jocelyne Lee say the event will be a chance for risk managers and their partners to learn more about one another’s “perspectives”. For more information on “Perspectives 2005”, contact MyTravel Sinfonia at 1-800-667-9220 or email: Rims@mytravel.ca.