Vioxx Maker Is Accused of Scientific Misconduct
From Times Wire Reports
A cardiologist testifying in Merck & Co.’s federal trial in Houston over Vioxx accused the drug maker of engaging in scientific misconduct, suppressing clinical evidence and stifling medical discourse as it promoted the painkiller.
Eric Topol, chairman of the cardiovascular medicine department of the Cleveland Clinic, said Vioxx could cause heart attacks anytime after a patient began taking it, and that its risks were apparent as early as 1999, when the drug was approved.
This is the first federal trial over Vioxx. Merck has lost one state trial over the drug and won another, but still faces about 7,000 lawsuits.
