A federal judge has ruled in favor of Merck in litigation accusing the drugmaker of concealing the risks of Gardasil, a vaccine to prevent cervical and other fatal cancers. The decision made public on Tuesday by U.

A federal judge ruled in Merck & Co.’s favor in a safety lawsuit over its Gardasil vaccine, allowing the drugmaker to sidestep more than 200 cases claiming the company concealed safety risks.

A federal judge ruled in favor of Merck in litigation accusing it of concealing the risks of Gardasil, a vaccine to prevent cervical and other cancers caused by the human papillomavirus and one of the drugmaker's best-selling products.

A federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of Merck for part of the litigation involving the HPV vaccine, Gardasil. The rest of the case is still going on. Some patients claim the drugmaker rushed the vaccine to market, hid serious side effects, and exaggerated the vaccine’s effectiveness..