In an op-ed, Wayne State Law Professor Lawrence C. Mann discusses the $253 million jury verdict earlier this month against drug company Merck & Co. for the death of a man taking Vioxx. Mann writes that this case shows why changes and compromises must be made at the national level to improve pharmaceutical product development and delivery in this country. He further calls for federal action to address conflicting state laws as they pertain to drug company lawsuits like the Merck & Co. case. "Our elected representatives at the federal level should now step forward to end the confusion about pharmaceutical liability inherent in the multiplicity of state laws," Mann writes.