MetaFilter posts tagged with Vioxx

Pharma reps from another planet

Mister_A — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:07:10 -0800

Feast your senses (including, perhaps, your sense of outrage) on this Merck Vioxx sales training video, presented in 3 parts without commercial interruption (heh) by the often interesting Pharmalot. Vioxx was pulled from the market a few years ago because of cardiovascular risks (increased incidence of MI associated with Vioxx in clinical trials and post-marketing reporting). There is currently a huge class-action suit going on over Vioxx deaths, so it is interesting to see what Merck brass was telling the reps back in the early 2000's. Of particular interest is the bit about Vioxx and MI (heart attack) about 2:15 into the second clip.

As you might have heard on the news today, two more women have died after taking RU-486.

sequential — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 19:01:16 -0800

The number of patient fatalities in mifepristone abortions is estimated at 1 in 200,000¹, about double the rate for suction-aspiration abortions of comparable terms, and about equal to the combined early and late term fatality rates for vacuum aspiration abortion.² (source) (via) [More inside]

Whoa

punkbitch — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 17:33:46 -0800

No mere slap on the wrist for Merck. Jury awards grieving widow $253.4 Mil in Vioxx suit. The first of thousands of cases like it. (washpost)

It's a Beautiful Morning?

Otis — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 10:51:26 -0800

In September 2001 the FDA warned Merck, makers of the painkiller Vioxx, for engaging in a promotional campaign that minimized "potentially serious cardiovascular findings." The previous year, Merck spent $161 million on Vioxx advertising (more than Pepsi or Budweiser spent on advertising that year). Earlier this year, a securities class action complaint was filed on behalf of several Merck investors alleging the company engaged in a marketing campaign that included false and misleading statements concerning the safety profile of Vioxx and that company insiders sold personally held shares of Merck for over $175 million in proceeds. Today, Merck withdrew Vioxx from the market.