Originally published July 5 2005
Vioxx makers' past patent application could incriminate company
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Merck & Co. Inc, makers of Vioxx, voluntarily withdrew the drug from the market in 2004 after studies alleged that it could be linked to heart attacks and strokes. The company still claims that no connection has been proven, but in 2001, Merck sought a patent for a drug to reduce heart attack risks in Vioxx users.
According to government records, the company applied for the patent in 2001.
Merck voluntarily withdrew Vioxx, a $2.5 billion drug, on Sept. 30, 2004 after studying whether the medicine was linked to heart attacks and strokes, according to government records.
However, the company says no such connection has been proven.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Merck's lawyers said the patent application was to provide a medicine that would provide all of the cardiovascular benefits of aspirin without any of its gastrointestinal side effects, preserving the effectiveness of Vioxx.
"This patent application has nothing to do with Merck's firm belief in the cardiovascular safety of Vioxx, both before the medicine was approved by the FDA and right up until Merck voluntarily withdrew Vioxx from the market," said a spokesman for Merck's law firm, Hughes Hubbard & Reed.
The Food and Drug Administration declined to comment on the matter, noting it does not deal with patents.
In the 2001 application, the company looked to patent the aspirin-like drug to help prevent heart attacks in patients who could not take aspirin because of its gastrointestinal effects.
Merck wrote in its application: "For patients who are taking COX-2 selective inhibitors and who may benefit from the cardiovascular protective effect of aspirin, there remains a need for a cardiovascular protective treatment that does not expose them to increased risk for gastrointestinal side effects."
More than 2,000 Vioxx users have filed suit against the company, alleging that Merck knew about the cardiovascular risks, according to the Inquirer report.
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