Merck denies knowing risk of Vioxx

NEW YORK, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Merck & Co. is disputing it knew Vioxx significantly increased the risk of heart attacks at least three years before it was pulled off the market.

Merck scientists monitored the safety of Vioxx and detected no evidence of an increase in the risk of heart attacks and deaths, the company said in a statement Monday.

Merck's statement was in reaction to a paper published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine by researchers who were paid advisers to lawyers for plaintiffs in lawsuits over the pain killer, which was taken off the market in 2004.

After reviewing results from 30 clinical trials completed before Vioxx's withdrawal, the researchers concluded Vioxx raised the risk of heart-related side effects by 35 percent, said Joseph Ross, the lead author of the new study and an assistant professor of geriatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

In 2007, Merck agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle most of the estimated 10,000 personal-injury lawsuits filed against it over Vioxx. Merck has yet to resolve a lawsuit by shareholders, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.