Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009
Merck's Vioxx Nightmare
On Sept. 30, 2004, pharmaceutical giant Merck announced that it would voluntarily recall its worldwide stock of Vioxx, an arthritis drug that had brought in $2.5 billion in sales the previous year. Merck executives said the recall was a precautionary measure spurred by a study that found patients who took the drug for at least 18 months incurred more heart attacks and strokes. In 2007, Merck paid $4.85 billion to settle 27,000 lawsuits from people affected by injuries or death associated with the drug.