VIOXX News and FDA Study - Health-Lawyers.net

A US Food and Drug Administration study examining the incidence of coronary heart disease in patients taking Vioxx has finally been published in the British medical journal The Lancet.

Lead author, Dr. David Graham, who works in the FDA's office of drug safety, found that Vioxx could have caused up to 140,000 cases of heart disease in the US. Graham indicated many of these cases could have been fatal.

Graham and colleagues concluded that patients taking Vioxx had a 34 percent increased risk of coronary heart disease compared with patients taking other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

The team based their estimates on data analyzed from 1.4 million patients in California who were prescribed NSAIDs between 1999 and 2004.

Merck & Co. voluntarily removed Vioxx from the market in September after a clinical trial showed it doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The Lancet originally planned to publish the controversial study last November, however, Graham claimed he had been threatened with dismissal by superiors if the study appeared in a medical journal.

Earlier this month the FDA agreed that the study could be published.

Information on this web site is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should not use the information on this web site for diagnosing or treating a medical or health condition. Health-Lawyers.com does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the information, content or advertisements (collectively, the "Materials") contained on, distributed through, or linked, downloaded or accessed from any of the services contained on this web-site (the "Service"), nor the quality of any products, information or other materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by you as a result of an advertisement or any other information or offer in or in connection with the Service (the "Products"). You hereby acknowledge that any reliance upon any Materials shall be at your sole risk. Health-Lawyers.com reserves the right, in its sole discretion and without any obligation, to make improvements to, or correct any error or omissions in any portion of the Service or the Materials. You should carefully read all product packaging. If you have or suspect you have a medical problem, promptly contact your professional healthcare provider.