Vioxx, Rofecoxib News

Fake treatments and bogus billings are all too common in the mega-billion dollar business of health care fraud.

No one knows for certain if a similar disaster could not happen again - indeed it could be happening A somewhere right now In the late 1950s and early 1960s up and down Britain, mothers who had taken thalidomide, a drug to prevent morning sickness, gave birth to babies with shocking deformities.

The settlement resolves allegations that Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. marketed their drug Vioxx as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis without federal approval.

Eight leading pharmaceutical companies have approved 10 recommendations aimed at improving transparency to address what they call a 'credibility gap' that faces industry-funded clinical research.

Maine has received more than $1.1 million in a nationwide federal court settlement with the manufacturer of the painkiller Vioxx over its failure to disclose potential adverse effects, according to the the Maine Attorney General's Office.

AUGUSTA – Attorney General William J. Schneider announced today that Maine has received payment of more than $1.1 million in a nationwide settlement with pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.

Attorney General William Schneider announced today that Maine has received payment of more than $1.1 million as part of a nationwide settlement involving the painkiller Vioxx.

Back in 2004, when Merck took Vioxx off the market, I remember reading that investigators believed the drug may have been responsible for as many as 50,000 deaths from heart attacks and strokes.

Like Vioxx, Merck's expensive "super aspirin" that caused thousands of cardiovascular events before being recalled, Merck's Fosamax, the first bisphosphonate bone drug, flew out of the FDA with only a six-month review.

Merck & Co. isn't liable in Australia for heart risks associated with the Vioxx painkiller, the country's top court ruled, upholding an appeal of the first trial decision outside the U.S. Graeme Robert Peterson was awarded A$287,912 in a 2010 ruling that found Vioxx contributed to his heart attack in 2003, and a Federal Court appeal panel in ... (more)

Such was the provocative title under whichA Alexander Cockburn ran a recent column A discussingA my China/America article A inA The Week , a British-based news magazine which claims a total American print circulation of over 500,000. We'll see whether anyone notices that column either.

The once popular cox-2 drugs, Vioxx and Bextra, were pulled off the market in 2004 and 2005, respectively, after research showed that both raised the chances of cardiovascular trouble.

Merck essentially met analyst expectations with its first quarter earnings report, with earnings per share of $0.99, just above consensus estimates of $0.98. This has Merck stock edging higher to a current price around $39, despite the fact that Merck's second quarter earnings report is unlikely to be as positive as the first quarter earnings ... (more)

Pharmaceutical drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration but later re-called from the market - such as the antidiabetic drug Avandia and pain-reliever Vioxx - were the impetus for an Institute of Medicine committee report, recommending that the FDA take proactive steps to continue monitoring drugs' safety after initial approval and ... (more)

Washington, May 3 : After almost 13 years of study and intense debate, researchers have shed light on exactly how a once-popular class of anti-inflammatory drugs leads to cardiovascular risk for people taking it.

HOTBEDS Regional News US & Canada Biotech Bay Biotech Beach Genetown Pharm Country BioCapital BioMidwest Bio NC BioForest Southern Pharm BioCanada East US Device Europe Asia After almost 13 years of study and intense debate, researchers have shed light on exactly how a once-popular class of anti-inflammatory drugs leads to cardiovascular risk for ... (more)

The once popular cox-2 drugs, Vioxx and Bextra, were pulled off the market in 2004 and 2005, respectively, after research showed that both raised the chances of cardiovascular trouble. Meanwhile, Celebrex, a painkiller in the same drug class that remains on the market, carries a "black box" warning alerting patients to potential heart risks.

Newswise - PHILADELPHIA - After nearly 13 years of study and intense debate, a pair of new papers from the Perelman School of Medicine, at the University of Pennsylvania have confirmed exactly how a once-popular class of anti-inflammatory drugs leads to cardiovascular risk for people taking it.

TUESDAY, May 1 -- A management plan to gather, assess and respond to data about all medications' risks from the time they are approved until they are no longer on the market is needed to improve drug safety in the United States, says an Institute of Medicine report released Tuesday.

Drugs authorized for sale in spite of bad or risky side effects need safety research after their approval, the Institute of Medicine said Tuesday.