The Vioxx trial that is ongoing in Australia has shed new light on the questionable tactics Merck & Co. used to market its dangerous painkiller. Now, according to The Australian, it seems Merck orchestrated “patient loyalty programs” that, publicly, seemed to be about increasing “quality of life.” Privately, reported The Australian, Merck was only seeking improved “patient compliance” and retention while doubling “sales potential.”

Vioxx was approved for use in the U.S. in 1999, quickly becoming a blockbuster for Merck, with annual sales of $2.5 billion. Vioxx was pulled off the market in 2004 after an analysis of patients using Vioxx linked the defective drug to over 27,000 heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. from 1999 through 2003. Vioxx was also recalled in more than 80 countries that year. The Vioxx recall spawned thousands of product liability lawsuits and, in 2007, Merck agreed to settle most U.S. Vioxx claims for $4.85 billion. But, Merck continues to defend lawsuits in other countries, including Australia. (more…)

The Vioxx trial that is ongoing in Australia and which has shed new light on the questionable tactics Merck & Co. used to market the dangerous painkiller has, said the Australian, involved a leading American cardiologist who testified that Vioxx played a “substantial contributing role” to the heart attack suffered by a 58-year-old Australian.

Vioxx was approved for use in the U.S. in 1999 and quickly became a blockbuster for Merck, with annual sales of $2.5 billion. The painkiller was pulled off the market in 2004 after an analysis of patients using Vioxx linked the defective drug to more than 27,000 heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. from 1999 through 2003. Vioxx was also recalled in more than 80 countries that year. The Vioxx recall spawned thousands of product liability lawsuits and in 2007, Merck agreed to settle most U.S. Vioxx claims for $4.85 billion. But, Merck continues to defend lawsuits in other countries, including Australia. (more…)

The ongoing Vioxx trial in Australia has just revealed that Merck, the maker of the controversial drug, paid so-called nurses to look through medical records in search of potential Vioxx patients, BNET reports. According to the Australian court, the nurses accessed patient records without obtaining physician permission in the hopes of garnering 100 patients per doctor, explained BNET. Patients were sought who were not taking, but were seen as potential candidates to take Vioxx, said BNET, citing The Australian.

Vioxx was approved for use in the U.S. in 1999, and quickly became a blockbuster for Merck, with annual sales of $2.5 billion. The painkiller was pulled off the market in 2004 after an analysis of patients using Vioxx linked the defective drug to more than 27,000 heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. from 1999 through 2003. Vioxx was also recalled in more than 80 countries that year. (more…)

A Vioxx trial in Australia has shed new light on the questionable tactics Merck & Co. used to market the dangerous painkiller. The strategies, detailed in an article published by The New York Times, will not surprise anyone who has followed this blog’s Vioxx coverage.

Vioxx was approved for use in the U.S. in 1999, and quickly became a blockbuster for Merck, with annual sales of $2.5 billion. The painkiller was pulled off the market in 2004 after an analysis of patients using Vioxx linked the defective drug to more than 27,000 heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. from 1999 through 2003. Vioxx was also recalled in more than 80 countries that year. (more…)

In the most recent debacle over Merck’s Vioxx, Merck is accused of hiring a ghostwriter for a Circulation paper likely written to minimize issues linked to Vioxx’s safety. The Heart.org said well-known cardiologist Dr. Marvin Konstam of Tufts University Medical Center agreed to act as lead author in 2001. Claims just made in an Australian court allege the paper was written by Merck’s in-house scientists, a conflict of interest.

It is believed the Merck paper was developed in defense of an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that broke with news that Vioxx increased cardiovascular side effects, said The Heart.org. It took until 2004 for Vioxx to be globally withdrawn. “During the three years after publication of the Konstam manuscript, millions of patients around the world were prescribed rofecoxib by physicians who believed that the drug was safe. In this case, a ghostwritten article caused great harm to the public health,” said Dr. Steve Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic and author of the JAMA paper, quoted The Heart.org. (more…)

Vioxx is the target of a federal probe, Merck & Co. announced yesterday. According to Reuters, the grand jury investigation involves Merck’s research, marketing and selling activities regarding Vioxx, which was pulled from the market in 2004.

Vioxx was approved for use in 1999, and quickly became a blockbuster for Merck, with annual sales of $2.5 billion. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) ordered the painkiller off the market after an analysis of patients using Vioxx linked the defective drug to more than 27,000 heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. from 1999 through 2003. (more…)

Medical journals have been asked to retract 21 studies that touted the benefits of Vioxx, Celebrex and other drugs. According to The Wall Street Journal, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Mass. is asking the journals to make the retractions because its former chief of acute pain, Dr. Scott S. Reuben, had faked data used in the studies.

In addition to Vioxx and Celebrex, some of the 21 studies involved the fibromyalgia drug Lyrica and the antidepressant Effexor XR. Reuben’s study claimed to show that these drug worked well as painkillers, the Journal said. All of the studies were published between 1996 and 2008. (more…)

Vioxx, Celebrex, ibuprofen and other NSAID painkillers increase the chances that heart attack and heart failure patients will experience a second heart attack or death, a new study says.  According to Danish researchers, the risk of a second heart attack or death actually doubled within the first 90 days of starting Vioxx or Celebrex.  Other painkillers, like ibuprofen, increased the risk between 2.1 and 1.3 times.

The study was presented this week at the American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans.  At least one of the researchers recommended that physicians now avoid these types of painkillers, or use low doses, in patients with a history of heart attack or heart failure. (more…)

A new study that confirms the heart risks associated with a class of drugs called NSAIDs has found that the increased risk correlates to the specific pain-causing molecule they act against.   According to the study, NSAIDS that are cox-2 inhibitors are more likely to increase the risks of heart attacks and strokes.

NSAIDs  are the most prescribed medications for treating conditions such as arthritis. Most people are familiar with over-the-counter, nonprescription NSAIDs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen. NSAIDs also include prescription drugs like Celebrex, as well as the now-banned Vioxx. (more…)

Pfizer has reached a tentative agreement to settle lawsuits involving its Bextra and Celebrex painkillers for  $894 million.  If it goes forward, the Pfizer Bextra and Celebrex settlement will resolve roughly 90 percent of the personal injury lawsuits the company faces because of the drugs.

Celebrex and Bextra are COX-2 inhibitors, a class of drugs that also includes Merck’s recalled Vioxx.  Such medications are linked to an increased risk of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes. Pfizer withdrew Bextra from the market in 2005, and  Celebrex is the only COX-2 inhibitor still on the market in the United States. (more…)