(by Dr. Goldfinger)

Merck, the maker of Vioxx withdrawn recently as the one that may cause cardiovascular problems, says it had no idea about the threat until the survey.

"Any claim that Merck didn’t react responsibly is in direct conflict with the facts," said Peter Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories.

Really, Merck removed the drug from the market as soon as it got to know about the dangerous possibility. After the withdrawal, Merck’s shares fell 20%. Merck’s study, called “Approve”, showed the threat of heart attack for the patients taking Vioxx for 18 months and more.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Arcoxia as a future successor to Vioxx. It is chemically similar to Vioxx currently available for 47 nations. Merck says it considers Arcoxia to be safely taken for at least 12 months.

Now Merck may face charges as for the drug usage, despite of pleading not guilty.

Merck officials on Wednesday called a press conference to reiterate that they did not believe until last month that Vioxx raised users’ risk of heart attacks or strokes. "We do anticipate that additional lawsuits will be filed, and we just can’t speculate on the number of those lawsuits," said Kenneth Frazier, Merck’s general counsel.

But plaintiffs’ attorneys now search for the information whether the company knew about the risks.