Read Bahar Dejban's KPA Newsletter Article "To know or not to know? For Merck, the answer is both."
In January 1999 Merck began their Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research (VIGOR) study which compared Vioxx to naproxen, which is the active ingredient in some brand name pain relievers. At the conclusion of the study it was not only apparent that there was a lower incidence of gastrointestinal events in patients being treated with Vioxx , but more significantly there was a higher risk of cardiovascular events in those same patients. On March 27, 2000 Merck issued a public statement explaining those results:
Among patients treated with Vioxx, there was significantly reduced incidence of serious gastrointestinal events compared to patients treated with naproxen…………In addition, significantly few thromboembolic events were observed in patients taking naproxen in this GI outcomes study, which is consistent with naproxen’s ability to block platelet aggregation. This effect on these events had not been observed previously in any clinical studies for naproxen. Vioxx, like all COX-2 selective medicines, does not block platelet aggregation and therefore would not be expected to have similar effects.
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