Merck Confirms Favorable Cardiovascular Safety Profile of Vioxx
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2001.
In response to news and analyst reports of data the Company first released a year ago, Merck & Co., Inc. today reconfirmed the favorable cardiovascular safety profile of Vioxx(R) (rofecoxib), its medicine that selectively inhibits COX-2. Vioxx was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in May 1999 for the management of osteoarthritis and the relief of acute pain in adults based on efficacy and safety studies involving nearly 4,000 patients. More than 33 million prescriptions have been written for Vioxx in the United States since its introduction.
The results of the Vioxx Gastrointestinal Research study were first released in March 2000. Since that time, the data have been widely reported, published in The New England Journal of Medicine and discussed extensively by an FDA Advisory Committee.
In VIGOR, Vioxx 50 mg, a dose two-times the highest chronic dose approved for osteoarthritis, significantly reduced the risk of serious GI side effects by half compared to a commonly used dose of naproxen (1,000 mg) in rheumatoid arthritis patients. The Advisory Committee recommended that these results be included in the labeling for Vioxx. Vioxx is not indicated for rheumatoid arthritis.
Although the VIGOR study was a GI outcomes study and was not designed to show differences in cardiovascular effects, significantly fewer heart attacks were observed in patients taking naproxen (0.1 percent) compared to the group taking Vioxx 50 mg (0.5 percent) in this study. There was no difference in cardiovascular mortality between the groups treated with Vioxx or naproxen. Patients taking aspirin did not participate in VIGOR.
In extensive discussions, the Advisory Committee explored this finding, other studies of Vioxx and possible explanations for this result in VIGOR. In the completed osteoarthritis trials and on-going clinical trials with Vioxx 12.5 mg, 25 mg and 50 mg in 30,000 patients, there was no difference in the incidence of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks, among patients taking Vioxx, other NSAIDs and placebo.
At the Advisory Committee meeting, Merck scientists said the VIGOR finding is consistent with naproxen’s ability to block platelet aggregation by inhibiting COX-1 like aspirin, which is used to prevent second cardiac events in patients with a history of heart attack, stroke or other cardiac events. This is the first time this effect of naproxen on cardiovascular events has been observed in a clinical study. Other potential explanations were advanced by the FDA reviewer and were discussed with the Advisory Committee. The Committee recommended that the data on cardiovascular events in VIGOR be included in the labeling for Vioxx.
In addition, the Committee agreed that the prescribing information for both Vioxx and Celebrex(R) (celecoxib) should reflect the fact that neither of these selective NSAIDs confer cardioprotective benefits and are not a substitute for low-dose aspirin. The Committee also recommended that other studies be conducted to further explore the safety of concomitant use of selective NSAIDs and low-dose aspirin.
In a separate GI outcomes study in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis patients, celecoxib, another agent that selectively inhibits COX-2, was compared to the NSAIDs diclofenac and ibuprofen. Pharmacia, maker of celecoxib, has indicated that there were no differences among celecoxib, ibuprofen and diclofenac on these cardiovascular events. In Pharmacia’s background package submitted to the FDA for the Advisory Committee meeting, the incidence of patients taking celecoxib who experienced a heart attack was cited as 0.5 percent, 0.3 percent among diclofenac patients, and 0.5 percent among patients taking ibuprofen.
Important information about Vioxx
The recommended dose of Vioxx for the treatment of osteoarthritis is 12.5 mg once daily. Some patients may receive additional benefit by increasing the dose to 25 mg once daily.
Serious stomach problems, such as bleeding, can occur without warning symptoms. Administration of low-dose aspirin with Vioxx may result in an increased rate of GI ulcers or other complications compared to use of Vioxx alone. Physicians and patients should remain alert for signs and symptoms of gastrointestinal bleeding.
Common side effects reported in osteoarthritis clinical trials with Vioxx were upper-respiratory infection, diarrhea, nausea and high blood pressure. People who have had an allergic reaction to Vioxx, aspirin or other NSAIDs should not take Vioxx. Safety and effectiveness in children below the age of 18 have not been studied.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is a global, research-driven pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of human and animal health products, directly and through its joint ventures, and provides pharmaceutical benefit services through Merck-Medco Managed Care.
Vioxx(R) is the Merck registered trademark for rofecoxib.
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[…] Vioxx was FDA approved in May 1999. A June 2000 study—VIGOR (VIOXX GI Outcomes Research)—first indicated the connection between Vioxx and heart attacks, raising health concerns about chronic use of the drug. As late as September of 2001, the FDA sent a warning letter to Merck accusing it of glossing over these findings in their advertising and other literature. The FDA’s letter mentions, among other things, a press release issued in May of 2001: We have identified a Merck press release entitled, “Merck Confirms Favorable Cardiovascular Safety Profile of Vioxx,” dated May 22, 2001, that is also false or misleading for similar reasons stated above. Additionally, your claim in the press release that Vioxx has a “favorable cardiovascular safety profile,” is simply incomprehensible, given the rate of MI [myocardial infarctions] and serious cardiovascular events compared to naproxen. The implication that Vioxx’s cardiovascular profile is superior to other NSAIDS is misleading; in fact, serious cardiovascular events were twice as frequent in the VIOXX treatment group (101 events, 2.5%) as in the naproxen treatment group (46 events, 1.lYo) in the VIGOR study. […]