NEWS - Merck voluntarily withdraws Vioxx from the market

September 30, 2004

September 30, 2004

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said

on Thursday withdrew its arthritis drug Vioxx globally after a colon

cancer trial confirmed long-standing concerns the drug raises the risk

of heart attack and stroke.

Merck's shares plunged in pre-market trading after the announcement.

A recent study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggested

patients taking Vioxx faced a 50 percent greater risk of heart attacks

and sudden cardiac death than those taking Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE.N: Quote,

Profile, Research) rival Celebrex treatment.

Vioxx had sales last year of $2.55 billion. They have been flat in

recent years amid ongoing safety concerns.

Merck said it is withdrawing the drug following data from a new

three-year trial of Vioxx, designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the

drug's standard 25 milligram dose in preventing recurrence of colorectal

polyps. Such polyps often become cancerous.

" In this study, there was an increased relative risk for confirmed

cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, beginning after

18 months of treatment in the patients taking Vioxx compared to those

taking placebo, " Merck said in a release.

" It's a major blow for Merck, " said Sena Lund, an analyst at Cathay

Financial. " It was one of their five key drivers for future growth. "

Merck had expected Vioxx to help restore the company's earnings growth

when the drug was launched in 1999, but its sales have been hurt by

clinical trial data showing it increased the incidence of blood clots

tied to strokes and heart attacks.

Meanwhile, sales of Pfizer Inc.'s similar drugs, Celebrex and Bextra,

have steadily grown as doctors have turned to those drugs, which have

not been linked to heart attack and stroke.

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

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