The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7338 p228
26 February 2005

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News summary

MSD might reconsider the future of Vioxx

Merck Sharpe & Dohme has indicated that the future of rofecoxib (Vioxx), the cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor withdrawn from the market last year (PJ, 9 October 2004, p505), is still open to consideration.

Although the company says that it stands by the voluntary withdrawal of the drug, Peter Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories in the US, has suggested that the company will take account of emerging data on other therapies within the COX-2 class.

At a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee meeting last week, Dr Kim said that Merck believes that new clinical data on other COX-2 inhibitors suggest that the cardiovascular risk associated with rofecoxib is a class effect.

“If the advisory committee and FDA conclude that the benefits of this class outweigh the risks in some patient populations, then we would have to consider the implications of these new data given the unique benefits Vioxx offers,” he added.