Merck and Co., Inc. suffered a major defeat when a special panel of the Food and Drug Administration rejected Merck’s attempt to get approval for it’s Vioxx replacement drug, Arcoxia. The vote was 20-1. There is no longer any doctor or scientist willling to say that these class of pain killers, known as Cox-2’s, are safe. rs.
They increase the risk of heart attack and stroke substantially, despite Merck’s shrill protestations to the contrary. Vioxx was withdrawn from the worldwide market on September 30, 2004 because it was killing folks. Bextra, another Cox-2 made by Pfizer, was also withdrawn from the market. Only Celebrex remains and it is sold with the most severe black box warning possible. The bottom line is to speak with your doctor about safer pain relieve
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