The "Vioxx Recall." Merck & Company's Withdrawal of Vioxx from the Market

Merck & Company, the manufacturer of Vioxx, voluntarily withdrew Vioxx from the market worldwide on September 30, 2004. In the recent media the withdrawal has been referred to as the "Vioxx Recall." According to the company's press release, the withdrawal was based upon a recent placebo controlled study which had to be stopped because the early data demonstrated that those in the Vioxx group had an increased risk for confirmed myocardial events, including heart attacks and stroke, as well as an increased incidence of other cardiovascular disease and adverse reactions. Merck's announcement that it was withdrawing Vioxx, however, also followed substantial earlier evidence including clinical studies (including the March 2000 "VIGOR study")and a peer reviewed published article analyzing the study data (the August 2001 Cleveland Clinic study, published in the Journal of ). This earlier study data demonstrated a four fold increased risk of heart attack, as well as increased incidence of stroke and other cardiovascular disease in association with use of the drug. To learn more about the Vioxx studies which preceded the "Vioxx recall" you may consult the "Vioxx Clinical Studies" page of this web site.