Cox-2 Inhibitor Debate Lingers
Merck failed to calm alleviate concerns over safety issues related to cox-2 inhibitor painkillers. Merck recently published crucial data on Arcoxia, its successor drug to Vioxx. Concerns still linger over the safety of cox-2 inhibitors; Merck's drug Vioxx was withdrawn from the market in 2004 after a company study discovered that it doubled heart attack and stroke risks. Vioxx and Pfizer's Celebrex and Bextra had been called "super aspirins" for their ability as better and safer painkillers than aspirin.
Merck currently is trying to get approval for its drug Arcoxia (etoricoxib) and is comparing the side effects of Arcoxia to those of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and diclofenac. However, experts who wrote an editorial in The Lancet asked "whether society should invest increasing amounts into ever larger randomised trials to address the remaining safety questions about the cardiovascular risk of Nsaids, even if logistically feasible."
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