Merck comes under attack from scientists

In another editorial under the heading "Expression of Concern Reaffirmed," three editors of the New England Journal of Medicine, Gregory D. Curfman, M.D., Stephen Morrissey, Ph.D., and Jeffrey M. Drazen, M.D. are taking on Merck that has the reputation of destroying the career of anyone who has ever questioned the safety of Vioxx - a drug that has killed as many as 60,000 Americans, according to the FDA.

In another setback to the company, Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee denied on Merck & Co.'s request to separate the two cases, those of John McDarby of Park Ridge and Thomas Cona of Cherry Hill, whose trial begins next week.

While Merck has been fighting almost 10,000 personal injury lawsuits, it has never admitted that Vioxx caused so many deaths in America alone. The editors write, "..conclusions regarding the safety of rofecoxib were misleading." In fact the manner in which Merck explained the fatal risks of Vioxx (Aleve was better; not that Vioxx was worse) has shocked the community of scientists who like to follow the highest standards of ethics.

The editors conclude by saying that they are not yet convinced that Vioxx was a safe drug and Merck's published research "did not accurately reflect the potential for serious cardiovascular toxicity with rofecoxib (technical name for the drug)." This has clearly been a big setback to the company after it was celebrating its victory in the first federal retrial. The juries in the forthcoming trials are bound to hear this argument so that they can make up their minds about the injuries caused by the drug.

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