Healthy Skepticism Library item: 947

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Cunningham M.
300 deaths blamed on arthritis pill
The Herald Sun 2005 Apr 11

Full text:

As many as 300 Australians may have died from heart disease caused by arthritis wonder drug Vioxx, a top rheumatologist has warned.

Prof Les Cleland, from the Royal Adelaide Hospital, believes Vioxx has caused more than 1000 cases of heart disease in Australia, with up to 30 per cent of those ending in death.

Prof Cleland told the ABC’s Four Corners program, to be screened tonight, that Vioxx could cause the blood to clot, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The drug was hailed as a major breakthrough when it was approved for use in 1998, offering pain relief for arthritis sufferers without side-effects such as stomach ulcers and internal bleeding caused by other drugs.

But Vioxx was taken out of the Australian market in October last year after tests found it increased the chance of heart disease.

Vioxx works by inhibiting the Cox 2 enzyme that causes the pain and swelling around the joints.

But tests have found the enzyme also plays a vital role in helping prevent blood clots.

Gold Coast woman Trish Hunsley, 44, said she had no heart complaints until she started taking Vioxx to ease the pain of her arthritis.

“My life’s just been stolen from me as far as I’m concerned,” she said.

“I was healthy before that except for the arthritis and I just feel I don’t have a life any more, that I’m just ruled by this heart problem now.”

Four Corners will also air allegations that Vioxx’s maker, Merck and Co, knew about the dangers of the drug well before it was taken off the shelves.

But Merck and Co’s Australian subsidiary, Merck Sharp and Dohme, released a statement yesterday saying it had withdrawn the drug as soon as tests proved it could cause an increase in heart attacks and strokes.

The company said it swiftly communicated all information about Vioxx and would vigorously defend its actions.

“We are confident a careful and complete examination of Merck Sharp and Dohme’s conduct will show that we acted responsibly and in a manner that is consistent with our commitment to patient safety and to our rigorous adherence to scientific investigation, openness and integrity,” it said.