Vioxx (rofecoxib) News and Research

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Vioxx, also known as refecoxib, is a prescription COX-2 selective, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that was approved by FDA in May 1999 for the relief of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, for the management of acute pain in adults, and for the treatment of menstrual symptoms.

Vioxx was withdrawn from U.S. drugstores in September 2004 after a Merck study showed that long-term users of the drug had twice the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Why NSAIDs damage the tissue that lines the gastrointestinal tract

New versions of drugs like buffered aspirin and Vioxx could produce fewer harmful side effects thanks to research being done at Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

23 Jun 2007

All pain medications may raise risk of heart attack or stroke

Not long ago, choosing a pain reliever meant finding one that eased your pain without being too hard on the stomach.

1 Jun 2007

FDA in trouble over widely used diabetic drug Avandia

A diabetes pill which has been widely used since 1999 is now suspected of increasing the risk of heart attacks for those taking it.

22 May 2007

Some NSAIDs may be better suited to treating cancer

Until recently, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin and celecoxib (sold as Celebrex), were being hailed as promising cancer prevention drugs.

18 May 2007

More power to FDA on drug safety

The Senate overwhelmingly passed significant prescription drug safety reforms to give the Food and Drug Administration more power to deal with unsafe medicines on the market, moving the issue of drug safety to the House, where a strong bill has been introduced but has yet to be considered.

10 May 2007

Senate urged to pass strong prescription drug safety provisions

Consumers Union is urging the Senate to approve strong prescription drug-safety provisions this week in a major Food and Drug Administration bill, and resist attempts to weaken the bill when it comes to triggering quick safety action or moderating mass advertising of a new drug when there are signs of danger.

1 May 2007

Time for FDA to set the record straight on common painkillers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has caused an unnecessary scare about some pain relievers by adding a warning to drugs that are safe, says Curt Furberg, M.D., Ph.D., from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

25 Apr 2007

Prescription drug safety legislation introduced in House

Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman (Calif.) and Edward Markey (Mass.) have introduced legislation (HR 1561) that they say would make greater strides toward ensuring the safety of prescription drugs than Senate legislation (S 484) introduced by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), CQ HealthBeat reports.

22 Mar 2007

Blood pressure drug shows potential as lung cancer treatment

A hormone that is important in the control of blood pressure also shrinks lung cancer tumors in mice, suggesting a new way to prevent or treat the deadly cancer, according to scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

19 Mar 2007

Allowing greater access to drug safety data would enable researchers to better evaluate risks

For years, pharmaceutical companies have sought to restrict public access to drug safety data collected in clinical trials on the basis that it is proprietary information, arguing that competitors could use that information in the development of their own products.

8 Mar 2007

New Kaiser Permanente research aims to reveal genetic and environmental causes behind deadly and disabling diseases

The Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research is launching one of the largest research projects in the United States to examine the genetic and environmental factors that influence common diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's disease, asthma and many others.

15 Feb 2007

Congress likely to approve FDA prescription drug safety reforms in 2007

The Baltimore Sun on Friday examined how Democrats' takeover of Congress and the expiration of a law that requires drug manufacturers to pay user fees to FDA "is driving a flurry of activity that could lead to major changes" in the agency's drug safety policies.

12 Feb 2007

Lessons from Vioxx litigation

The pharmaceutical industry, academia and government agencies need to work together to restore faith in drug development, say doctors in this weeks' British Medical Journal.

18 Jan 2007

Why COX-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx can cause heart attacks and strokes

COX-2 inhibitors are primarily used to treat pain in conditions such as arthritis. They work by blocking the COX-2 enzyme, which is expressed at sites of inflammation and underlies the production of hormones called prostaglandins which swell the joints and cause the feeling of pain.

2 Dec 2006

Successor to Vioxx fails to quell concerns

When drug company Merck revealed the the results of a study this week over it's successor to Vioxx, the new arthritis drug Arcoxia, it did little to quell concerns about both the use and the safety of the new drug.

15 Nov 2006

Doctors warned that commonly used painkillers linked to increased risk of heart attacks

Doctors in the UK are being warned that commonly used painkillers such as ibuprofen can increase the risk of heart attacks if taken over long periods.

25 Oct 2006

FDA more cautious in approving new drugs after Vioxx

Many pharmaceutical companies and industry observers say that FDA is "quietly becoming more assertive about keeping new drugs off the market or refusing to approve new uses for existing medications" in response to criticism since the 2004 Vioxx recall, the New York Times reports.

3 Oct 2006

Bayer forgot to tell risks of heart surgery drug

According to the German drug giant Bayer AG, the reason the company failed to inform U.S. regulators about a study on the risks of the heart-surgery drug Trasylol was a mistake.

2 Oct 2006

Report says FDA not up to scratch

According to a new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), despite the debacle following the drug Vioxx which was withdrawn from the market two years ago, few lessons have been learned and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. still lacks the power and resources to adequately monitor the safety of newly-approved drugs.

25 Sep 2006

Latest studies reveal more risks with Vioxx

Two major studies by experts in the U.S. and Australia have provided new evidence of the cardiovascular and kidney risks attached to both COX-2 inhibitors and NSAID painkillers.

18 Sep 2006