Vioxx Pharmaceutical Injury Lawyers

Merck & Co. removed its popular arthritis drug Vioxx (rofecoxib) from the market after a long-term study found an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events - including heart attacks and strokes - among patients who took the medication. The removal was announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on September 30, 2004. Click here for a copy of the FDA News Release.

Vioxx was approved in 1999 and immediately became a blockbuster success story. "Wonder drugs," some called the new class of pain medication. Vioxx, like Celebrex and Bextra, was considered more effective than traditional painkillers and caused fewer gastrointestinal side effects.

But as Vioxx became widely used, problems began to arise, including serious heart ailments. One source of the information was the study sponsored by Merck.

The company had set out in its study to confirm the relative gastrointestinal benefits of Vioxx when compared to another pain medicine, naproxen. And the company's study did show that patients who took Vioxx had fewer ulcers and other stomach ailments. But there was also an unexpected and alarming finding: those who took Vioxx had a greater tendency to experience serious cardiovascular events.

In Vioxx and naproxen test groups with more than 4,000 patients in each, Vioxx users suffered 101 "serious cardiovascular events" and 20 myocardial infarctions. That compared to 46 naproxen users who had cardiovascular events and only four who suffered heart attacks.

Subsequent articles published in medical journals also stated that Vioxx- a Cox-2 inhibitor - may increase the risk not only of heart attack but also stroke and kidney failure. (Less importantly, questions also have been raised about whether the drug is actually more effective in treating pain.)

In 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took action. While not removing Vioxx from the market at that time, the federal agency issued a "Warning Letter" about the medication. It told Merck that its review of the company's promotional activities and materials for Vioxx were "false, lacking in fair balance or otherwise misleading." The FDA also blasted Merck for minimizing and omitting important risk information about using Vioxx in tandem with other drugs.

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If you or a loved one has suffered a heart attack, stroke, or serious cardiovascular event after using Vioxx, you need a law firm with the resources and the experience to bring you justice. Please call or e-mail the pharmaceutical litigation attorneys at Kline & Specter. We'll evaluate your Vioxx side effects claim for free and we don't get paid unless you do. Our expertise will help you get the compensation you deserve.

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This page was last updated on January 31, 2007.