Vioxx

Jurors award $47.5 million in Vioxx decision
March 13, 2007 (Associated Press) Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx contributed to an Idaho postal worker's heart attack, a jury in Atlantic City ruled Monday, reversing the verdict in the man's first trial and hitting Merck with a total of $47.5 million in damages."

Forbes: June 29, 2006 - Key Vioxx 18-month Usage Claim Withdrawn by Journal, Dealing Significant Potential Blow To Merck

Merck Found Liable For Man's Death In Vioxx Trial
August 19 2005 - Bloomberg - Merck & Co. must pay more than $253 million to the family of a Texas man who died after taking the company's Vioxx painkiller.

Merck Pharmaceuticals Withdraws Popular Arthritis Drug Vioxx from Market

See Our Vioxx Alert Video

To view the current status of the litigation, see our articles, First Vioxx Trial Verdict and Cases Challenge 18-Month Damage Claim and Analysts Predict Merck's Vioxx Liabilities Could Hit $50 Billion.

Merck withdrew Vioxx, its arthritis treatment, after a study showed it increased the risk of heart attack and stroke.

In addition to heart attacks and strokes, Vioxx has also been associated with several other life-threatening side effects, including blood clots, angina and nonbacterial meningitis, severe intestinal damage, ulcerations and bleeding, and kidney damage.

Merck & Co. announced the immediate, voluntary worldwide withdrawal after a three-year colon cancer clinical trial revealed that 18 months after patients started taking Vioxx, test results showed an increased risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular complications.

Many recent Vioxx lawsuits bring to light questions as to when Merck was first made aware that fatal side effects were associated with Vioxx, and whether the company failed to inform public health authorities of these side effects, in a timely manner.

In addition to heart attacks, strokes, and cardiac damage, patients taking Vioxx have experienced the following Vioxx side effects:

Serious Kidney Problems: Serious kidney problems may lead to acute kidney failure
Serious Liver Problems: Symptoms of liver problems include nausea, tiredness, itching, tenderness in the upper right abdomen and flu-like symptoms.
Allergic reactions: Symptoms include swelling of face, lips, tongue, and throat which can cause difficulty breathing or swallowing.
The FDA reports that Vioxx has also been linked to at least five cases of a non-bacterial type of meningitis, a rare but serious side effect.

These conditions may come about suddenly with few or no symptoms. If left untreated, hospitalization or even death can occur.

Merck extensively marketed Vioxx as highly safe and effective, while minimizing its risks compared to other drugs on the market. If you or a loved one have taken Vioxx and have suffered any side effects, you may have a legal right to compensation.

In a study of more than 8,000 patients that compared the COX-2 inhibitor rofecoxib (Vioxx) with the traditional NSAID naproxen, the risk of cardiovascular problems, including heart attack, chest pain related to heart disease, stroke, sudden death and blood clots, was more than two times higher in the rofecoxib group than in the naproxen group.

Vioxx and Celebrex are classified as and known as COX-2 inhibitors, or coxibs. COX-2 inhibitors, like older drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen, are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. Older NSAIDs reduce inflammation by blocking an enzyme called COX-2, but they also block another enzyme called COX-1. This enzyme helps protect the lining of the stomach, so blocking COX-2 can cause stomach irritation. COX-2 inhibitors only block COX-2, leaving the stomach-protecting COX-1 alone.

The annual rates of heart attack in both the Celebrex (celecoxib) and Vioxx (rofecoxib) studies were increased compared to a review of studies containing a total of more than 48,000 patients. In those studies, 0.52% of patients taking an inactive placebo pill had a heart attack each year. The annual rate of heart attack was 0.74% for patients taking rofecoxib and 0.80% for those taking celecoxib.

The researches believe that until more research is done, doctors should use caution in prescribing Vioxx and Celebrex to patients with heart disease.

FDA Drug Safety Report