That's the question asked by Larry Ribstein, back from an Asian trip where heartburn was a first-hand worry. Of course, it's too early to even say that Vioxx is the next Vioxx, since we don't know whether Vioxx will follow the fen-phen (giant verdicts followed by giant verdicts and giant settlement and endless litigation) or Propulsid (giant well-publicized verdict reversed followed by settlement for a pittance) route. But Professor Ribstein has some good observations about the problems of letting lawyers dictate which drugs are in the market.