Our Practice Areas : Injury Law : Vioxx
Are you one of the many who has been injured or lost a loved one because of the prescription drug Vioxx?
The Ziff Law Firm has provided a Vioxx Frequently Asked Questions page to help inform you of your rights and the legal recourse that may be available to you. The Ziff Law Firm is a team of legal professionals that has provided skilled, aggressive and ethical legal services to residents of New York and Pennsylvania for more than 50 years.
If after reviewing this page and the Vioxx Frequently Asked Questions page, you feel you may have a Vioxx claim because you or a loved one has suffered a heart attack, stroke, blood clots or kidney damage, please fill out our Vioxx Questionnaire or call us at 607−733−8866 and we will be happy to review your case.
RECENT ZIFF LAW FIRM NEWS ARTICLES
- First Vioxx Trial Verdict and Upcoming Cases Challenge 18-Month Damage Claim
- Analysts Predict Merck?s Vioxx Liabilities Could Hit $50 Billion
In Wake of Texas Verdict, Estimates Almost Double Those Previously Anticipated - Wall Street Watches First Vioxx Trials Closely
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Merck & Co., makers of Vioxx, voluntarily removed the popular painkiller from the market on September 30, 2004, because the company’s own clinical trials found that people taking a low dose of Vioxx for more than 18 months were twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke as those taking a placebo. At the time, Vioxx was being taken by more than 1 million Americans. Although Merck claims that proof of the drug’s health risks did not surface until five years after it was licensed and three years after the first hints of a problem, the abrupt withdrawal has raised questions about whether the company failed to inform public health authorities of the drug’s heart risks and other serious side effects.
In its November 2004 quarterly filing, Merck stated the company had received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice requesting information related to the research, marketing and selling of Vioxx. The company added that the Securities and Exchange Commission also opened an informal investigation in November. The federal investigators are looking into what Merck may have known in advance of its withdrawal of Vioxx, and whether or not executives committed any crimes when it disclosed problems with Vioxx to investors.
Merck is already facing hundreds of lawsuits claiming personal injuries resulting from the use of Vioxx, state-court actions alleging consumer fraud, and is being sued by shareholders.
Vioxx — a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) — is in a class of drugs commonly referred to as “Cox-2 Inhibitors.” It comes in liquid or pill form, and is prescribed to relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis. It can also be used to treat acute pain in adults such as those patients who experience severe pain associated with menstruation. Vioxx works by blocking COX-2 enzymes in the body that trigger pain and inflammation.
The drug was licensed in June 1999. Since then, more than 20 million Americans have taken the drug at one time or another. In September 2001, the FDA sent Merck an eight-page warning letter about the company’s promotional campaign for Vioxx, which minimized “the potentially serious cardiovascular findings that were observed” in a trial that compared the drug to naproxen, a less-expensive painkiller. The FDA charged that Merck discounted the fact that “patients on Vioxx were observed to have a four to five-fold increase” in heart attacks, compared with patients on naproxen.
THE ZIFF LAW FIRM CAN HELP!
If you are experiencing any of the above listed side effects, and have taken Vioxx, it is important to contact an attorney immediately. We will outline the documentation required, the decisions that must be made, and will continue to guide you through the legal process.
At the Ziff Law Firm, we recognize the deep trust placed in us by our clients, and we strive to uphold that trust by working hard and fighting hard for our clients. We do the best we possibly can for every client on every case. So, please call us at 607−733−8866 for your free legal consultation, or save time with our online Contact Form.
Please see our Vioxx Frequently Asked Questions for more information on Vioxx.
