Voixx lawsuit – Voixx tablets
- Rofecoxib
Vioxx(Voixx) Lawsuit - Merck Payout
The US pharmaceutical company Merck
was ordered to pay $253.4m (£141m) to the widow
of a man who died from a heart attack blamed on the
popular painkiller Vioxx(Voixx).
What is Voixx/ Rofecoxib?
Rofecoxib/Vioxx is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drug (NSAID) that was used in the treatment of osteoarthritis,
acute pain conditions, and dysmenorrhoea.
Rofecoxib was one of the most widely used drugs ever
to be withdrawn from the market. Worldwide, over two
million people were prescribed Vioxx at the time.
In the year before withdrawal, Merck had sales revenue
of US$2.5 billion from Vioxx.
Rofecoxib was available on prescription as tablets
and as an oral suspension.
COX-2 selective inhibitor
Rofecoxib belongs to the group of NSAIDs known as
COX-2 selective inhibitors or coxibs (CycloOXygenase-2
InhiBitors). Being COX-2 selective means that these
drugs act specifically on one form of the cyclooxygenase
(COX) enzyme, namely the COX-2, whereas previous NSAIDs
inhibited both COX-1 and COX-2. This specificity allows
rofecoxib and other COX-2 inhibitors to reduce inflammation
and pain while minimizing undesired gastrointestinal
adverse effects - peptic ulcers - that are common
with non-selective NSAIDs such as aspirin, naproxen,
and ibuprofen.
Interestingly, at the time of its withdrawal, rofecoxib
was the only coxib with clinical evidence of its superior
gastrointestinal adverse effect profile over conventional
NSAIDs. This was largely based on the VIGOR (Vioxx
GI Outcomes Research) study, which compared the efficacy
and adverse effect profiles of rofecoxib and naproxen.
(Bombardier et al., 2000).
What are the claims filed in the lawsuit?
Carol Ernst claimed Vioxx was to blame for her husband
Robert's death.
Mr Ernst, 59, had been taking the drug for eight
months when he died of heart arrhythmia in his sleep
in 2001. He was a marathon runner and triathlete who
was using the drug to treat pain in his hands.
Merck insisted its drug was not to blame for Mr Ernst's
death. It said he had suffered from an irregular heartbeat
and clogged arteries and it was these factors which
led to his death.
