Merck’s $8 Billion Cancer Vaccine Faces First US Jury Trial

Merck & Co. is facing its first jury trial over claims the company wrongfully marketed its lucrative Gardasil cancer vaccine as safe, the latest high-stakes litigation for the pharmaceutical giant.

Lawyers for a Los Angeles woman will argue Monday that the second-largest US drugmaker by revenue misled consumers by overstating the benefits of the HPV vaccine and downplaying its risks. The shot is given to prevent human papillomavirus, which researchers have tied to cervical and other cancers.

Jurors will be asked to decide whether Merck withheld side-effect reports from US drug regulators weighing the vaccine’s safety and launched misleading marketing ...