Vioxx

Evidence of cardiovascular risks associated with taking Vioxx, the popular, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (rofecoxib), could have been identified nearly four years before its manufacturer, Merck & Co. Inc., voluntarily pulled the drug from the market, according to new data.  

Vioxx side effects could have been known years earlier Vioxx was a blockbuster drug. Launched by Merck & Co., Inc., in 1999 as a treatment for painful arthritis, its annual sales soon reached $2 billion. The benefits were much the same as other anti-inflammatory painkillers, which sold for a fraction of the cost, but Vioxx (the generic name is rofecoxib) was designed to be less irritating...  

The Food and Drug Administration still hasn't restructured its staff to better monitor drug safety, more than three years after experts recommended key changes in the wake of the Vioxx scandal. That's according to congressional investigators who found that... Food and Drug Administration - Rofecoxib - Pharmacovigilance - Health - United States  

Boston (DbTechNo) - It appears that heart risks associated with Vioxx were known about up to 3 years before Merck pulled their drug from the market. The painkiller was pulled from the market back in 2004, after it became apparent that the drug had severe heart attack risk in patients who received it. This news comes from [...]  

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Merck & Co. have told the Supreme Court that investors waited too long to sue over its warnings about the risks of its former blockbuster painkiller Vioxx before it was pulled from the market. Merck wants the high court to throw out an investors' class-action securities lawsuit. They sued because of the tens of billions of dollars in shareholder value lost overnight after Merck pulled Vioxx off the...  

Evidence that the painkiller Vioxx might increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes emerged nearly four years before the drug was voluntarily withdrawn from the market, research has shown. Vioxx, the brand name for rofecoxib, was designed to fight the pain of arthritis. It was launched in May 1999 by Merck & Co Inc. But in September 2004, Merck voluntarily pulled Vioxx following a large trial that was halted early after finding evidence...  

Before the headlines hit about the dangers of using Vioxx (rofecoxib), researchers were already aware, say news reports. Vioxx, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID), was made by Merck & Co. Inc., and introduced to the American market in 1999. The company then voluntarily pulled the drug from the market in September 2004, after there were multiple reports of increased risk of heart attack and stroke associated with long-term, high-dose use...  

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., Merck today presented oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court in Merck & Co., Inc., v. Richard Reynolds. - - The Supreme Court is reviewing a decision reinstating a securitie...  

Readers of this blog are, by now, aware of the many issues surrounding Merck’s blockbuster nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory medication Vioxx (rofecoxib) and negative cardiac events. The cardiac problems associated with Vioxx, and its subsequent withdrawal from the market, spawned scores of lawsuits. These include Merck shareholder lawsuits, which were recently the subject of oral [...]  

On Monday, Merck & Co., and the investors who filed securities suits against it, had their day in court. Investors in Merck are suing the company over the misrepresentation of the safety of Vioxx (or lack thereof) which allegedly caused...  

Merck (MRK) got a rough ride at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. The justices ridiculing the company’s argument that investors in its stock should have sued the company earlier over its misrepresentations about Vioxx even though they would not have had the evidence for their suits to succeed at that time.  

AbbottAUSTIN (Legal Newsline)-A Texas judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the state attorney general against drugmaker Merck & Co. over its now-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx.In a 2005 lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott had sought a refund on behalf of the state for money spent on the drug. The lawsuit also sought damages and penalties for alleged violations of the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act.Travis County Judge Scott...  

Der US-Pharmakonzern Merck & Co. hat im Fall um das Schmerzmittel Vioxx eine juristische Niederlage in Deutschland erlitten. Das Oberlandesgericht Brandenburg verpflichtete die deutsche Merck-Tochter MSD Sharp & Dohme nach Informationen des Berliner "Tagesspiegel" (Freitagausgabe) dazu, alle internen Unterlagen über Nebenwirkungen des Schmerzmittels herauszugeben. Das Blatt beruft sich auf das Gericht. Nach Berichten über ein möglicherweise...  

"Some Justices Voice Skepticism of Merck in Vioxx Case": Brent Kendall of Dow Jones Newswires has this report. And law.com's Tony Mauro reports that "High Court Seems Unconvinced by Merck in Vioxx Arguments."...  

Birmingham StarOn Merck's Interesting Supreme Court ArgumentWall Street Journal (blog)Williams & Connolly's Kannon Shanmugam is, by many accounts, a rising star of the Supreme Court bar. As an assistant to the Solicitor General ...'Nothing is more important than patient safety'Irish TimesSome Justices Voice Skepticism of Merck in Vioxx CaseWall Street Journalall 201 news articles »