Attorney General Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg filed a joint lawsuit yesterday against the maker of the painkiller Vioxx for allegedly withholding information about cardiovascular risks associated with the drug.

The civil suit, filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, accuses Merck & Co. Inc. of deliberately misrepresenting Vioxx, which Merck removed from the market in 2004 after a study showed the drug doubled the risk of heart attack or stroke.

In addition to civil penalties, the lawsuit seeks Medicaid restitution stemming from $100 million the state spent on Vioxx prescriptions between 1999 and 2004. The lawsuit is the first case to be filed under the state’s False Claims Act.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Merck’s lawyers, Kent Jarrell, defended the pharmaceutical company’s actions. “We believe that as a company, we have acted responsibly, from researching the drug prior to approval, to monitoring the drug while it was on the market, and to voluntarily withdrawing the drug when we did,” he said.

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NONPROFITS AND HEALTHY PAY

Some of New York’s highest-paid hospital executives and doctors were among those listed in the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual survey of executive pay at the nation’s largest nonprofits.

The survey’s highest earner was Dr. David Silvers, the director of dermapathology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, who earned $4.84 million last year. The 15th annual survey, published in the September 20 issue of the magazine, is based on information provided by 249 nonprofit groups.

Among hospital executives, the CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Harold Varmus, ranked second highest in compensation. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, he earned $2.49 million. Other top earners included Dr. James Grifo, the head of reproductive endocrinology at NYU Medical Center, who earned $2.82 million in 2006.

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CITY RESTAURANTS NEARLY FREE OF TRANS FAT

Nearly all of the city’s 3,330 restaurants have stopped using spreads and oils containing trans fat, according to the city’s health department.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said 94% of eateries inspected between July 1 and September 1 had switched to spreads and oils free of artificial trans fats.

The city banned trans fats in restaurants last year, and starting October 1, restaurants that use trans fats in spreads and oils will be subject to fines of $200 or more. Restaurants have until July 2008 to eliminate artificial trans fats from baked goods and other foods.

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TOP AWARD FOR CITY SCIENTIST

A New York City scientist who discovered a type of cell that triggers an immune response has won a prestigious medical award. Dr. Ralph Steinman, a professor and senior physician at the Rockefeller University, has received the Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. Dr. Steinman, 64, discovered dendritic cells, which trigger the body’s defense against germs.

The Lasker Awards, first presented in 1946, are administered by the Albert & Mary Lasker Foundation. The $150,000 awards will be presented on September 28.

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MT. SINAI RESEARCHERS AIM TO TREAT ALZHEIMER’S

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine are working on a new drug compound to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

The medical school recently announced a new partnership with a Minnesota-based molecular design company, Medisyn Technologies. Last week, researchers said they hope to develop a drug compound that will lower levels of the protein deposits that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The organizations said they aim to complete clinical trials by the end of 2007.