Stepping into the Vioxx void

Published: March, 2014

(Reviewed/revised April 2005)

Answers to four questions after the popular pain reliever was yanked off the market.

In September 2004, Merck announced that it was pulling rofecoxib (Vioxx) off the market. The decision came after an interim analysis of a colon polyp prevention trial showed that twice as many people taking the drug had a heart attack or stroke as those taking a placebo.

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