Merck Vioxx News and Press Releases

Vioxx Nearly Doubles Heart Attack, Stroke Risk

(Ivanhoe Newswire) - February 17, 2005 - A large prospective trial assessing whether the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx (rofecoxib) could prevent cancer recurrence in colon cancer patients shows that Vioxx nearly doubled the risk of stroke and heart attack in patients receiving the drug vs. those who took a placebo.

The safety-monitoring board of the Vioxx trial first noticed this risk and reported it last September, which halted the study. Vioxx was then pulled from the United States market.

Lead study author Robert S. Bresalier, M.D., of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and colleagues note 46 of the 1,287 patients who had taken Vioxx in the drug trial had cardiovascular events, mainly heart attacks or strokes, within three years. Among the placebo group, 26 of the 1,299 patients had cardiovascular events. Each group had the same number of deaths, not all related to stroke or heart attack.

Dr. Bresalier adds that while the number of heart attack and stroke incidents in the group receiving Vioxx was small, "the difference between the groups is significant." He also points out that patients who took Vioxx did not begin having cardiovascular problems such as heart attack or stroke until 18 months of treatment.

Other cardiovascular problems such as pulmonary edema, hypertension, and heart failure occurred earlier and appeared more prevalent in the group taking Vioxx. However, data showing a correlation between Vioxx and these milder cardiovascular problems is not as solid, according to the study authors.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, published online Feb. 15, 2005

Should kids be able to use Vioxx?

03/08/2005 - Vioxx was pulled from shelves after studies showed it increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes in adults. But those results were not found for children who use the drug.

Jaclyn Smith, 11, has had juvenile arthritis since she was 15-months-old. In constant pain, Smith found some relief six years ago when she started taking Vioxx. When it was pulled from the shelves, she switched to Celebrex.

"But with Celebrex, I got more stomach aches and stuff," she said.

Recently, a panel of FDA advisors recently left the door open for Vioxx to come back on the market.

"It is a frustration," said Smith's mother. "I would switch her back to Vioxx immediately if it were available."

Doctors agree that Vioxx worked well for children, especially because it came in liquid form, in different flavors.

The Smiths are hoping Vioxx becomes available again for children.

Suddenly Sought After by Millions of Internet Users, This Florida Legal Group Gives Us The Final Word on: Advertising in 2004, Vioxx, Bextra, Celebrex and Aleve.

Law firms have been advertising since 1977. 2004 was the year we saw the biggest legal advertising explosion ever. Why? Vioxx! This small, but highly marketed Florida based Legal Group helps us make sense of it all, and tells us what's to come in ...

Miami Beach, FL (PRWEB) - January 08, 2005 - All of the advertising that happened in 2004 by law firms everywhere taught us all something: sometimes it's better to keep it simple. While some firms spent big on advertising, and mustered little results, the Vioxx-Legal-Group did just the opposite with their advertising. Determined to keep the advertising budget low, and find the right firm to advertise their site in what they referred to as "what everybody else is doing", is what kept this organization from going broke on advertising costs. Despite the bleek outlook at first because of heavy competition from big name firms, they have attracted millions of visitors generating anything from the worst possible Vioxx, Bextra, and Celebrex cases, to the best possible cases. They still keep attracting a cataclysmic number clients who have been severely damaged by the forenamed drugs in what seems to be an uphill battle in the fight for damages against pharmaceutical giants like Merck and Pfizer.

The Vioxx-Legal-Group as they eloquently refer to themselves, saw some of the highest amounts of traffic from search engines on their simple 5 page website in 2004, when affected folks searched for "Vioxx Lawyer", and similar terms. They are still attracting incredible amounts of internet traffic into 2005, and have become hefty competition for other firms by using some simple optimization techniques, and of course, using their signature style of telling it like it is. Turning no one away, the Vioxx Legal Group has attracted clients who have been kind enough to say things like one Alabama client of theirs put it: "They treated me like I was a human being, and spoke to me like a next door neighbor." Since seeing a stream of comments like this, the organization has started the process of creating a testimonials page on their website, as a testament to the effectiveness of their approach.

Even though most firms have spent thousands, and even millions in some cases, this group keeps it simple, and keeps an even simpler optimization company, manned by only 3 individuals dedicated to getting results with internet marketing, at close beckoning. The marketing firm has implemented a number of techniques to get the Vioxx Legal Group a tremendous amount of search engine traffic, including keeping an article page on their site that is constantly updated with the latest Vioxx news (http://www.vioxx-legal-group.com/vioxx-news.html). Those that have been affected by any of the now defunct "super-drugs", as some have referred to Vioxx, Bextra, Celebrex, Aleve and others, will undoubtedly find this legal group on the internet. Those that have been affected will benefit from this organization's method of being straight forward, and keeping it simple in this era where things are usually more complex than they seem.

By hiring a small New York based internet marketing firm (name withheld at request of Vioxx Legal Group) manned by only 3 people, the Vioxx Legal Group's ". . .response rate has been overwhelming!", according to one of the group's network members.

Rachel Woods, Webmaster for the site added: "We did not expect this much traffic! I don't know how that internet marketing company did what they did, but they did it well, and fast. We've had to add subdomains like http://www.bextra-legal-group.com, http://www.vioxx-legal-group.info, and http://celebrex.vioxx-legal-group.com to our already highly popular internet site http://www.vioxx-legal-group.com and it's predecessor http://www.vioxxlegalgroup.com."

Eric Gillette, Manager of the internet marketing firm stated for the record: "We do not claim to be experts at we do. We only claim to know enough about internet marketing to make any client's website dangerous to their competition."

The Vioxx Legal Group's savvy and snarling down-home routine of telling their potential clients how badly the pharmaceutical companies' drugs are behaving is unheard of in an industry that tends to side with the big guys. They have a 24 hour response time to any inquiry on their site, and will even call you to discuss important issues, all the while providing information and details about pending legal actions against major companies. This is a service to the internet community that is usually billed by the hour. They will make a believer out of anyone that thinks that the pharmaceutical companies can get away with it. Quick turn around time, and easy to understand language as opposed to legal jargon makes this site a good place to start if you have experienced disabling or debilitating side effects by Vioxx, Bextra, Celebrex, or Aleve.

John Lee of the Vioxx Legal Group forecasts: "We are seeing an unheard of precedent in the history of law. Recently the measure backed by President Bush would prevent consumers from seeking punitive damages from the makers of Vioxx and Celebrex. What is going on now will continue many years into the future as major corporations introduce ideas, products, and services that they do not expect to be held accountable for. Unfortunately, the government always steps in when they shouldn't as in this case, where they are literally shielding the pharmaceutical companies. With Merck, and Pfizer, they too will soon understand that even though we keep things simple, the attorneys that represent our network will fight tooth and nail until our clients get what they deserve: accountability."

About Vioxx-Legal-Group.com
Vioxx-Legal-Group.com created by the Modena Florida Group specifically to help people that have been affected by Vioxx started in mid 2004, and has since grown to represent a number of different malpractice websites, dedicated to helping individuals get the legal help they need when times aren't so certain. Since it's inception, the group has maintained that they will "keep it simple"; referring to the language used on their sites, and in dealing with their clients, and continues to do so despite heavy competition in the legal malpractice arena.

For additional information, visit: http://www.vioxx-legal-group.com or http://www.bextra-legal-group.com or http://celebrex.vioxx-legal-group.com

CONTACT INFORMATION:
John Lee
Vioxx Legal Group/Modena Legal Group
http://www.vioxx-legal-group.com
http://www.bextra-legal-group.com
http://celebrex.vioxx-legal-group.com

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Vioxx-Legal-Group.com
Eric Gillette
866.417.8360

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