Bad News, Good News on Vioxx Heart Attack Risk

Long-term study of individuals taking Vioxx (rofecoxib) for arthritis and chronic pain has confirmed some bad news associated with the painkiller but it has revealed some good news, too.  Vioxx, a Cox-2 inhibitor class of drug, was pulled from the market in 2004 when it became apparent that taking the drug as directed doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke.  The bad news is that the longer-term study confirms this risk of cardiovascular trauma.  The good news is the heightened risk of stroke and heart attack diminishes and returns to normal about 18 months after Vioxx is discontinued. Read more

Hired Writers, Not Scientists, Behind Merck’s Vioxx Studies

In a new twist to the ethical issues Merck Inc, faces over Vioxx (rofecoxib), the company’s one-time best seller that was pulled from the market in 2004, because it became closely associated with patient heart attacks, some argue that the company hired writers to fashion the medical publications that their scientists are believed to have written. Many of these publications claim to be based upon the same scientific evidence which supposedly documented the safety of the drug in order to obtain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Read more