Merck lo sabia todo de VIOXX y...

"...Merck & Co has been hit by the publication of a meta-analysis which claims that a cardiovascular risk associated with the drug was known well before the painkiller was withdrawn. Research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at 30 studies on 20,152 patients looking at Vioxx (rofecoxib) before it was withdrawn in September 2004 on the basis of the APPROVe study.

According to the authors of the pooled data, as of December 2000, 21 of these trials had been completed and the risk of a cardiovascular thromboembolic (CVT) adverse event or death was greater among subjects assigned to the Vioxx group.

Subsequently collected data through June 2001 showed that rofecoxib was associated with a 35% increased risk of a CVT adverse event or death and by April 2002 that had risen to 39%. By September 2004, it was up to 43%, compared with placebo. The researchers say the data used in the study “were not publicly available for analysis by independent investigators” at the time Vioxx was being marketed “and have only now become available through litigation”. They argue that “physicians and the public deserve to be in a position to make informed choices about risks and benefits, and the disclosure and dissemination of information about potential risk immediately after its recognition is absolutely essential”.

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Hace pocos días estas "practicas" de Merck fueron incluidas en The Worst Drug Company Marketing Techniques (III): MERCK
y publicado en PHARMACOSERÍAS.