Vioxx Recall:
Approved by the Food and Drugs Administration in 1999, Vioxx is a drug that was manufactured by pharmaceutical giant, Merck. This drug was designed to treat various types of pain, such as osteoarthritis, menstrual cramps, and other types of adult pain. Vioxx was one of a breed of drugs called cox-2 inhibitors, which work a little differently to standard non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Vioxx, along with other cox-2 inhibitors, worked by isolating and inhibiting the cox-2 enzymes in the body. Standard non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs were unable to do this without also affecting the cox-1 enzyme, which is essential to the body’s gastric health. As a result standard drugs were the cause of a variety of gastric and health problems, whereas cox-2 inhibitors were hailed miracle drugs by the medical world.
In next to no time, Vioxx was being prescribed to millions of people for adult pain management. The drug gained popularity very quickly, becoming one of Merck’s best selling medications. Merck netted billions of dollars over the next few years from sales of Vioxx. However, just four years after initial approval and an excited welcome from the world of medicine, a number of disturbing facts came to light about Vioxx, and researchers began to report on a number of dangerous side effects stemming from tests carried out on the drug.
One of the major concerns brought to light about Vioxx was that, although this type of drug reduced the risk of stomach problems compared to a standard non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug, it increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes quite significantly in patients taking the drug. This revelation sparked much controversy, and a short while after these facts came to light, Merck voluntarily withdrew Vioxx from the US market, amidst pressure from public watchdog groups.
The Food and Drugs Administration helped Merck’s efforts to get Vioxx withdrawn from the market in September 2004. However, even this agency came under fire at this point for approving the drug in the first place without performing indepth testing that could have brought these problems to light earlier. However, many of the people that had been taking toe drug over the past four years now realized that some of the health problems they had experienced could have been down to taking Vioxx.
In addition to this many families of people that had died from heart attacks and strokes whilst taking Vioxx also realized that there could be a connection between the death of a loved one and this painkiller. As a result, Merck suddenly found many lawsuits filed against it for personal injury or wrongful death as a result of taking Vioxx. However, on the other side of the coin, although Merck had withdrawn Vioxx, there were also patients that were eager to have the drug replaced on the market, stating that they would rather take the risks that put up with the pain they were in without this drug.
Since the recall of Vioxx in September 2004, many other cox-2 drugs have come under fire, as more and more has come to light about the dangerous side effects and risk factors of the drugs. Another popular drug, Bextra – also a cox-2 inhibitor – was also at the center of controversy, and was taken off the market earlier this year. Again, many lawsuits have already started to pile up against the manufacturer of this drug, Pfizer Inc.
Although some people commended Merck for voluntarily recalling Vioxx from the market after the revelations about the side effects came to light, it has since been discovered through internal memos and other documentation that Merck officials appeared to be aware of the potential side effects long before they actually came to light through research. It has also come to light that Merck apparently tried to change the formula of the drug some time ago to try and eliminate the dangers, but continued to allow people to take the drug without any warnings.
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Headlines & Topics Relating to Vioxx:
A woman that filed a lawsuit against Merck for the wrongful death of her husband, who had been taking the pharmaceutical company’s cox-2 drug, Vioxx, has won her first victory.
Topic Added June 10th, 2005
The former company president of Merck & Co, the manufacturer of controversial cox-2 inhibitor Vioxx, has stated that the pharmaceutical giant is considering the return of the drug to the market.
Topic Added September 9th, 2005
In the second Vioxx trial to hit the courts, Merck have been hit with another setback, as the judge struck the testimony of the first defense witness.
Topic Added November 30th, 2005
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