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Vioxx: The Downfall of a Drug Merck removed one of the world's best-selling painkillers from the market in 2004 after a study showed Vioxx caused an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events, such as stroke and heart attack. Now, Merck agrees to pay $4.85B to end thousands of lawsuits.
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Vioxx: The Downfall of a Drug

Merck removed Vioxx from the market after a study showed it could cause heart attack and stroke.

Merck Tries to Move Beyond Vioxx Debacle

Merck agrees to pay nearly $5 billion to settle lawsuits from consumers contending the painkiller Vioxx caused heart attacks and strokes. The safety problems of Vioxx and the withdrawal of Vioxx from the market was a watershed event in regulating prescription drugs in the U.S.

Merck Tries to Move Beyond Vioxx Debacle

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Medical Journal Publishes Correction on Vioxx Study

The New England Journal of Medicine has published a correction to a Vioxx study that has figured prominently in Merck's legal defense of the drug. The medical journal says that a reinterpretation of the study shows Vioxx increases cardiovascular risk soon after patients start taking the painkiller. Merck says the study continues to show Vioxx was safe for the first 18 months of use.

Medical Journal Publishes Correction on Vioxx Study

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Medical Journal Issues Vioxx Study Correction

A correction published today on the New England Journal of Medicine's Web site undermines a key feature of Merck's defense against the thousands of lawsuits filed over its painkiller Vioxx.

Medical Journal Issues Vioxx Study Correction

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Conflicted Safety Panel Let Vioxx Study Continue

Merck pulled its painkiller Vioxx from the market in 2004 after a study showed the drug caused heart problems, strokes and death. But documents obtained by NPR reveal that early results from a 1999 study showed similar problems. Yet Merck didn't stop that study and tell the public.

Conflicted Safety Panel Let Vioxx Study Continue

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Data: Vioxx Heart Risks Began Earlier than Thought

New data obtained by NPR about the painkiller Vioxx show that all patients who took the drug were at increased risk for heart attack, stroke and other complications -- even those who took it for short periods of time. About 20 million Americans are estimated to have taken Vioxx before it was withdrawn in 2004.

Data: Vioxx Heart Risks Began Earlier than Thought

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Study: Health Risk Remains a Year After Quitting Vioxx

New results from a large scientific study show that the risk of heart problems and death from the painkiller Vioxx are long-lasting. An increased risk continued even one year after patients stop taking the drug.

Study: Health Risk Remains a Year After Quitting Vioxx

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Jury: Vioxx Maker Owes Heart-Attack Victim $9 Million

A jury recommends a $9 million award in punitive damages to a man who blamed his heart attack on Vioxx. The jury found that the drug manufacturer, Merck, failed to warn about the risks of its arthritis drug and misrepresented the risks to physicians. The jury had already recommended $4.5 million in compensatory damages.

Jury: Vioxx Maker Owes Heart-Attack Victim $9 Million

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Merck Ordered to Pay $4.5 Million in N.J. Vioxx Case

A New Jersey jury awards more than $4 million to one plaintiff suing Merck, maker of the painkiller Vioxx, which has been linked to heart problems in some patients. Now the jury will hear evidence on whether Merck should face punitive damages. In a separate Vioxx case, the same jury rules against the plaintiff.

Merck Ordered to Pay $4.5 Million in N.J. Vioxx Case

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Journal Raises New Questions About 2000 Vioxx Study

The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine is publishing more criticism of a 2000 study on Vioxx. The journal says at least two researchers knew about "adverse cardiovascular events" more than four months before the article was published. Merck removed Vioxx from the market in 2004 and faces thousands of Vioxx-related lawsuits.

Journal Raises New Questions About 2000 Vioxx Study

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Jury Clears Vioxx Makers in Death of Florida Man

The first Vioxx case to be tried in federal court ends in a win for Merck. A jury of eight unanimously decided that Merck is not liable for the death of a 53-year-old Florida man in 2001. Richard Irvin suffered a fatal heart attack after taking Vioxx for a month. Merck pulled Vioxx from the market in 2004.

Jury Clears Vioxx Makers in Death of Florida Man

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Houston Vioxx Case Ends in Mistrial

A judge declares a mistrial in the first federal lawsuit over the painkiller Vioxx. Merck emerged from its third Vioxx trial Monday with a hung jury when the panel failed to side with the drug maker or the widow of a 53-year-old Florida man who died after taking Vioxx for about a month.

Houston Vioxx Case Ends in Mistrial

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Judge to Set New Trial Date After Vioxx Mistrial

A federal judge in Houston will meet next week with lawyers in the first federal Vioxx trial to set a date for a retrial of the lawsuit against Merck, the painkiller's maker. As jurors began their fourth day of deliberations Monday, the judge found them to be deadlocked and declared a mistrial.

Judge to Set New Trial Date After Vioxx Mistrial

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Study Used for Vioxx Defense Questioned

As jurors at a federal trial seek to decide whether drugmaker Merck was negligent in designing and marketing the popular painkiller Vioxx, the New England Journal of Medicine questions the data used in a study Merck is using in its defense.

Study Used for Vioxx Defense Questioned

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