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Merck Pulls Vioxx Off Market

Reuters reported on September 30, 2004 that Merck and Co, Inc. has pulled its arthritis drug Vioxx off the market after a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Vioxx (also sold as Ceoxx in some parts of the world) is in a class of drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors. The drugs Celebrex and Novartis are in the same class. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it would watch other COX-2 inhibitors closely as a result of the Vioxx report.

Last year Vioxx had sales of $2.55 billion, accounting for more than 10% of Merck’s annual revenues. More than 91 million prescriptions for Vioxx have been written in the U.S. alone since the drug’s introduction in 1999.

Analysts say that this could cost Merck more than the $16 billion drug maker Wyeth has spent to cover damages to people who suffered heart damage as a result of taking the recalled diet drug combination fen-phen.

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