New Evidence Points to Added Vioxx Dangers

July 26, 2005

Merck is facing a fight in New Jersey state court in September when Plaintiff's attorneys are expected to use evidence released in Merck's Texas court case, that counters one of Merck's main defenses.  The evidence is an internal company document that Merck provided to plaintiffs attorneys suggesting that some Vioxx users began experiencing more heart problems than placebo takers as early as a few weeks after beginning to take the drug.  The evidence is expected to directly refute Merck's claim that Vioxx users were not at an increased risk for heart attack or stroke until the drug was used for a period of 18 months or more.

The document, a report containing preliminary results of a clinical trial called Victor, indicates that the elevated risk grew over time. The risk neared statistical significance when Victor was used for approximately twelve months. When a risk "reaches statistical significance," the phenomenon can no longer be attributed to chance. This new evidence is expected to lead plaintiffs attorneys to argue that patients who took Vioxx for a short period may have been at risk for heart trouble.

Researchers at Oxford University in the United Kingdom conducted the Victor study and while scientists there gave the company preliminary data, they haven't yet provided the full results. "We have asked for it more than once," said a spokesman for Merck's attorney. A company spokeswoman added that "Merck believes that Oxford is working diligently to get us the data as it becomes available." Oxford said in a statement that the data are being "cleaned" and will be submitted to Merck this Friday, "as previously agreed with Merck." It says the final results likely won't be published until 2008.

That Vioxx may have posed an increased risk even earlier could have major implications for the legal cases being filed against Merck. Out of 20 million Americans estimated to have taken Vioxx, only a small percentage of them are likely to be able to claim that they took the painkiller every day for more than a year and a half. The Victor results could provide ammunition for those litigants who took Vioxx for shorter periods of time.  Merck's liability has been estimated at between $4 billion and more than $20 billion.