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Subscribe To Our Syndicated NewsMissing Data Affects Vioxx Lawsuits
February 7, 2006
The retrial of the first federal Vioxx lawsuit is expected to include the New England Journal of Medicine's criticism of a major Vioxx medical study. Experts predict this new criticism will have a tremendous impact on the course of this Vioxx case and those to come.
In their criticism, New England Journal of Medicine editors indicate that the lead authors of the 2000 Vioxx study VIGOR deleted and/or withheld crucial information about three cases of Vioxx related heart attacks in their original clinical findings report.
Had this information been included in the study, the entire report of Vioxx side effects would have been different. The section would have shown that Vioxx patients had five times as many attacks as those on the pain reliever naproxen, rather than four times as many.
According to the journal, these inaccuracies and deletions call into question the integrity of the data.
Legal experts believe that the negative data omitted from a Vioxx study makes Merck & Co. look as if it is hiding something . Attorneys for Evelyn Irvin Plunkett, whose husband died after taking Vioxx for a month, say they will prove Merck's cover-up in the federal Vioxx retrial.
This Vioxx retrial was set after the original resulted in a mistrial. In an eight-to-one split, the hung jury was leaning in favor of Merck's contention that taking Vioxx had nothing to do with the death of Richard Irvin.
This new information, based on the New England Journal of Medicine's criticism, may have a tremendous impact on the jury's findings this time around.
Vioxx is a COX-2 selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that was used to treat arthritis, menstrual cramps, and other forms of chronic pain. A study found that taking the drug for 18 months doubled the risks of heart attacks and stroke, prompting Merck to pull the $2.5-billion-a-year seller from the market.
Thousands of consumers have filed claims against Merck, alleging that Vioxx contributed to their serious, and sometimes deadly, cardiovascular injuries.
For more information on the Vioxx Lawsuit, please contact us to confer with a Vioxx Lawyer and learn your legal rights and options.
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