Word: vioxx
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...WORLD IN WHICH THE FORTUNE OF a pharmaceutical company can rise and fall on the strength of a handful of blockbuster drugs, Vioxx was a giant. Unveiled with great fanfare by Merck in 1999, it was part of a group of prescription medicines called COX-2 inhibitors that were supposed to be safer for treating arthritis pain than over-the-counter remedies like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen. Thanks to an aggressive, multimillion-dollar marketing campaign, more than 20 million Americans took Vioxx at least once. The drug racked up $2.5 billion in worldwide sales last year and accounted...
...wasn't just big news when Merck announced last week that it was pulling Vioxx off the market; it was a bombshell that rocked financial markets and set doctors' phones ringing. A few days earlier, an independent panel had concluded that taking the drug for more than 18 months doubled the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Merck had a choice: it could beef up its warning labels, or it could bite the bullet and pull its blockbuster off the market. Given the legal risks of selling a drug known to cause heart problems, Merck probably...
Worried patients peppered doctors and other health-care providers with questions of their own. Should they stop taking Vioxx right away? How long could they expect its side effects to persist? Was there another drug they could take instead? Most doctors rushed to reassure. "This is a serious issue and should be dealt with seriously," says Dr. David Wofsy, president of the American College of Rheumatology. "But for the vast majority of people who are on Vioxx or who have ever been on Vioxx, there is no harm." (More on that...
...SCIENCE AND SOCIETY MEDICINE: Why Vioxx was yanked off U.S. pharmacy shelves FASHION: Milan's borrowing spree...
...Brussels-based lawyer for Howrey Simon Arnold & White, "but it was a lame performance. She has to pick up a gear or two." - By Peter Gumbel In Need Of A Remedy Shares in Merck plunged almost 27% in a day's trading after the U.S. pharma firm withdrew its Vioxx arthritis drug due to fears that it put users at greater risk of a heart attack or stroke. The painkiller generated $2.5 billion in global sales...