Canadian researchers have found that the defective drug Vioxx, recalled by the FDA, can cause a heart attack as soon as two weeks after a patient has begun to take the medication. More than a fourth of 239 elderly patients studied who had taken Vioxx suffered a heart attack within six to thirteen days after taking the drug. The Vioxx producer Merck & Co. has argued countless times in previous litigation trials that short-term use of the drug does not cause heart attacks. The company has undergone three jury awards totaling $298.3 million, two of which involved short-term use of Vioxx.
The Canadian study is certain to help future Vioxx trials, according to lawyers, spokespeople and lead researchers, despite Merck attorney allegations that there is an “overwhelming weight of scientific evidence … that there’s no effect in short-term use” of Vioxx.
The Canadian study was conducted by close analysis of data from health records in Quebec, focusing on about 114,000 patients aged 66 and older who had been prescribed painkillers such as Vioxx.
