“Arthritis drugs Vioxx Celebrex safety in doubt”
In doubt and may not be as safe as previously thought. Research earlier this
year has shown that these drugs increased the risk of heart attacks although a
relatively low risk over those taking a pain reliever. The FDA is debating
whether to add information about the increased risk on both drugs’ labels.
One Wall Street analyst has warned that this problem could have an adverse
effect on Merck the drug company responsible for these drugs be placed on the
market - along with Pharmacia which makes Celebrex generating $2.3 billion in
12 months to March 31 of this year Merck having sold $1.7 billion Vioxx during
the same 12 months.
Studies done last year showed that patients taking Vioxx had four times the risk
of heart attacks over patients taking Naproxen - another pain reliever. Naproxen
is also sold under the brands names of Naprosyn and Aleve. The risk of heart
attacks increases over time at about four heart attacks per 1 000 patients.
This study was sponsored by the Merck company which also stated that their ...
Next page