SPECIFIC PRODUCTS
VIOXX CLAIMS
VIOXX HEART ATTACK
The Lancet which first appeared on Oct 5, 1823 is totally independent and without affiliation to any medical or scientific organisation and is an authoritative voice in global medicine. The Lancet is of the opinion that Merck should have been aware of Vioxx heart attack and stroke side effects no later than the year 2,000. This opinion is based on 29 separate studies, which highlighted the risks of this drug which were gleaned from studies published in scientific journals and unpublished data from the United States Food and Drug Administration which was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
This drug which was introduced in 1998 quickly surpassed $2 billion in sales its first two years and is a major product for Merck being one of its top five best selling products which together account for over two-thirds of the company's worldwide sales. The value of the companies shares dropped by over 10% immediately following the worldwide withdrawal and subsequently dropped by another 8% when the first judgement in Texas in 2005 was found in favour of a deceased claimant whereby a jury awarded damages in excess of $200 million dollars to his widow which is however subject to appeal at least on quantum.
This whole family of drugs which also includes Celebrex, Bextra and older drugs such as Ibuprofen and Naproxen, is classified and known as COX-2 inhibitors, or coxibs which are non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. The older drugs do not however appear to have the same disastrous side effects as the newer drugs which act in a slightly different way.
The Lancet report criticized Merck's interpretation of earlier studies which indicated that a Vioxx heart attack was at least four times more likely than a heart attack being suffered by Naproxen users. The report disputed Merck’s assertions that Naproxen protected the user thereby giving an apparent increase in risk for users of Vioxx and also disputed Merck's claim that Vioxx heart attack risk was only associated with people taking larger dosages for 18 months or more. The figures suggest that even small doses taken for a short period of time will increase risk substantially.
A Wall Street Journal report published on October 5, 2004 suggests that this drug was responsible for more than 27,000 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths before Merck recalled the drug and cited an unreleased study of the side effects compiled by government regulators. A second report published by the Wall Street Journal on November 1, 2004 detailed specific emails and correspondence that showed that Merck executives knew about the risk of heart attack and stroke long before the drugs withdrawal.
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