Until we see some resolution of these issues, I think Merck and Pharmacia's stock will remain under pressure,

without a doubt the value of the deal will change.

I think the whole liability situation becomes manageable for Merck.

The impressive part was that there was a clear message of urgency, a clear admission that they've lost their leadership status. It was good to hear that they recognize that they have a problem.

The Texas jury (verdict) may have triggered a new strategy, which is, let's settle the most obvious cases because you don't want to keep losing case after case because that feeds into itself.

They were not going to settle one thing, and now they have a global settlement.