Withdrawal of Vioxx Casts a Shadow Over COX-2 Inhibitors

On 30 September, the drug giant Merck announced that it was yanking its blockbuster anti- inflammation medicine, the COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx, off the market after an alarming pattern surfaced halfway through a 3-year colon polyp prevention study. Heart attacks and strokes had occurred at a much higher rate among the roughly 1300 volunteers on Vioxx (3.5%) than among the 1300 taking a placebo (1.9%). Within days, pharmacies were packing up their supplies of Vioxx and shipping them back to the company.