Producer of Vioxx, Merck, May Have Known of Harmful Side Effects

Merck, the drug company that puts out Vioxx, an arthritic painkiller, is accused of  knowing the dangerous side effects of using the drug. It was pulled off the shelves on September 30, 2004 and made nearly $2.5 billion a year. The company is likely to face nearly 10,000 lawsuits due to the claim that the drug demonstrates an increased risk of heart attack and stroke in pill-takers of more than 18 months. 

This was discovered by a safety study called VIGOR (Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research) sponsored by Merck that indicated that “Vioxx users have an increased risk of suffering heart attacks, strokes, or other cardiovascular injuries.” Most lawsuits have already occurred in Merck’s home state of New Jersey and involve users who have taken the drug in a smaller time frame than that, thus giving Merck the winning edge. 

Vioxx is a part of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory family that includes Advil, Motrin, Nuprin and Naproxen (Aleve). It is a cox-2 inhibitor, which means that it isolates the cox-2 enzyme without affecting the cox-1 which helped to end gastric problems and gave relief to users. It is thought to damage fatty compounds in lipids and increase the amount of blood clots in users. The drug has also been known to induce ulcers, bleeding and perforation. It may also be responsible for increased infections to the renal system, the liver and possibly cause anemia. Overall, it is estimated that 3.7 percent of patients using Vioxx for 18 months experienced one of the serious cardiovascular risks involved.