Manufacturer Knew Vioxx Was Bad
November 25. 2009
In distressing news, it appears the manufacturer for the
now recalled drug, Vioxx, knew it was harmful years before they pulled it from the
market. Vioxx was giving consumers heart attacks and strokes, but because
it was generating billions in yearly revenues, the manufacturer did not recall
it.
Sometimes when manufacturers put products on the market, even
after extensive testing, they really do not know of the product's possibly hidden
defects. But it is quite another thing putting or continuing to put harmful pharmaceuticals on
the market, knowing full well, trials revealed potentially terrible side effects. A
decision was made to put profits ahead of public health.
STORY SOURCE
When Did Merck Know Vioxx Was Deadly?
Study Finds Danger Signal in Early Merck Data;
Merck Says Study Flawed
Nov. 23, 2009 - Merck should have known Vioxx
was deadly years before they pulled the drug from the market, a study of
Merck's own data suggests.
The study, published in the current issue of
the Archives of Internal Medicine, is by Joseph S. Ross, MD, of Mount Sinai
School of Medicine, and colleagues. The study authors were paid consultants
to plaintiffs' lawyers in Vioxx lawsuits -- in which much of the Merck data
first was revealed.
"By our analyses, the association is clear that
by June 2001 -- more than three years before the drug was eventually taken
off the market -- the risk could have been known," Ross tells WebMD.
Merck took Vioxx off the market in November
2004, after the "APPROVe" study conclusively demonstrated that Vioxx users
had more heart attacks and strokes than patients receiving a placebo...
http://arthritis.webmd.com
Vioxx side effects could have been identified
years earlier, researchers say
Tuesday 24 November 2009 00.00 GMT - The risks of Vioxx, a painkiller that can
increase the chance of heart attacks and strokes, could have been identified
several years before the drug was finally withdrawn in 2004, researchers
have said. If all the information from clinical trials had been analysed on
an ongoing basis, the risks would have been obvious three years sooner,
potentially saving thousands of people from life-threatening side effects...
Rofecoxib (Vioxx is the brand name) was a
blockbuster drug. An anti-inflammatory painkiller, developed by Merck, it
was designed to irritate the stomach less than older drugs in its class,
cutting the risk of potentially serious problems such as internal bleeding.
Vioxx was used especially to treat painful arthritis. Its annual sales grew
to over $2 billion (£1.2 billion). In 2003, more than 2 million
prescriptions for Vioxx were dispensed in England alone.
All that changed in September 2004, when Merck
voluntarily pulled Vioxx from the market. A large trial had been stopped
early when it became obvious that people taking Vioxx were suffering more
heart attacks and strokes...
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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