Journal claims Merck hid Vioxx problems

Merck shares slipped in overnight trading after the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine posted an editorial asserting that the drug maker had deleted data on the cardiovascular side effects linked to Vioxx in a major study of the Cox-2 inhibitor. Specifically, the journal asserted that Merck underreported the number of heart attacks suffered by people taking Vioxx, cutting the number from 20 to 17. In the study, researchers concluded that people taking Vioxx were four times more likely to suffer a heart attack than those taking the older drug naproxen. Adding in the three other heart attacks would have raised that to five times the number of naproxen incidents. The journal requested that Merck correct the information that was reported. In a statement, Merck denied that it had done anything improper.

For Merck, new allegations that it sought to downplay the side effects associated with Vioxx couldn't come at a worse time. The company is just beginning its defense against an estimated 7,000 claims that could generate as much as $50 billion in liabilities.

- read this article from The New York Times for more information