The Illinois Personal Injury Weblog of Schaeffer & Lamere P.C.

Lessons from the Vioxx Fiasco

From Business Week Online: "Lessons from the Vioxx Fiasco."  The article attempts to answer the following questions:

• What drugmakers, the FDA, doctors, and patients need to do;
• How did this happen?
• Who is responsible?
• Are these issues unique to Vioxx?
• Are there solutions?

If you have other questions about Vioxx or are looking for a Vioxx lawyer, you can call my law firm, Schaeffer & Lamere, for a free consultation at (618) 467-8200 or (888) 783-9679 (toll free) if you used Vioxx and suffered any of the following side effects:

• Heart attack;
• Stroke;
• Blood clots;
• Deep vein thrombosis;
• Pulmonary embolism.

You can also send an e-mail telling us what went wrong (click the "e-mail" link). We are attorneys who have had years of experience with pharmaceutical litigation like lawsuits against Merck. As your Vioxx attorneys, we can help!

David Graham Seeking Legal Help

Dr. Graham of the FDA is one of the doctor's who reportedly "blew the whistle" on Merck and its Vioxx problems.  According to this article from the New York Times, Graham "feared being fired and had sought legal help from a group that protects whistle-blowers. " There's more in the article.

Report: Vioxx Should Never Have Been Marketed

From Bloomberg.com: "Merck Debt Rating Lowered by Moody's on Vioxx Risks."  According to the article, "Vioxx was never more than a defective product" and "should never have made it to market."

If you have other questions about Vioxx or are looking for a Vioxx lawyer, you can call my law firm, Schaeffer & Lamere, for a free consultation at (618) 467-8200 or (888) 783-9679 (toll free) if you used Vioxx and suffered any of the following side effects:

• Heart attack;
• Stroke;
• Blood clots;
• Deep vein thrombosis;
• Pulmonary embolism.

You can also send an e-mail telling us what went wrong (click the "e-mail" link). We are attorneys who have had years of experience with pharmaceutical litigation like lawsuits against Merck. As your Vioxx attorneys, we can help!

Report: Vioxx Should Have Been Recalled Years Ago

From Bloomberg News: "Merck's Vioxx Should Have Been Realled Years Ago, Lancet Says,"--

Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller's heart risk was evident in studies four years before the drug was recalled -- and it should have been pulled from the market then, according to a study published in the medical journal Lancet.

Vioxx, the world's No. 2 pain medicine, was withdrawn from the market Sept. 30, after a study found the product doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes after 18 months. A study by researchers from the University of Berne in Switzerland found the same level of heart risk was apparent by the end of 2000 and was present even earlier than 18 months.

If you have other questions about Vioxx or are looking for a Vioxx lawyer, you can call my law firm, Schaeffer & Lamere, for a free consultation at (618) 467-8200 or (888) 783-9679 (toll free) if you used Vioxx and suffered any of the following side effects:

• Heart attack;
• Stroke;
• Blood clots;
• Deep vein thrombosis;
• Pulmonary embolism.

You can also send an e-mail telling us what went wrong (click the "e-mail" link). We are attorneys who have had years of experience with pharmaceutical litigation like lawsuits against Merck. As your Vioxx attorneys, we can help!

Inside the Vioxx Scandal

There's a long article about Merck and Vioxx in Fortune magazine titled "Will Merck Survive Vioxx?" According to the author, "The cost of settling the lawsuits will almost surely be in the billions of dollars, quite possibly in the tens of billions."

If you have other questions about Vioxx or are looking for a Vioxx lawyer, you can call my law firm, Schaeffer & Lamere, for a free consultation at (618) 467-8200 or (888) 783-9679 (toll free) if you used Vioxx and suffered any of the following side effects:

• Heart attack;


• Stroke;


• Blood clots;


• Deep vein thrombosis;


• Pulmonary embolism.

You can also send an e-mail telling us what went wrong (click the "e-mail" link). We are attorneys who have had years of experience with pharmaceutical litigation like lawsuits against Merck. As your Vioxx attorneys, we can help!

More About Vioxx

Did you know the FDA maintains a web page on Vioxx and its recent withdrawal from the market? If you have other questions about Vioxx or are looking for a Vioxx lawyer, you can call my law firm, Schaeffer & Lamere, for a free consultation at (618) 467-8200 or (888) 783-9679 (toll free) if you used Vioxx and suffered any of the following side effects:

• Heart attack;


• Stroke;


• Blood clots;


• Deep vein thrombosis;


• Pulmonary embolism.

You can also send an e-mail telling us what went wrong (click the "e-mail" link). We are attorneys who have had years of experience with pharmaceutical litigation like lawsuits against Merck, which manufactured Vioxx--as your Vioxx attorneys, we can help!

Vioxx Caused an Estimated 27,000 Heart Attacks

From Dow Jones: "FDA Study Estimates Vioxx Linked to 27,000 Heart Attacks"--

A study led by a Food and Drug Administration safety official projects that the widespread use of Vioxx may have led to more than 27,000 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths before the drug's abrupt withdrawal last week by Merck & Co. (MRK), Wednesday's Wall Street Journal reported.

The number is in comparison to how many similar incidents would have occurred had the same patients been taking Celebrex, the Pfizer Inc. drug that competed with Merck's blockbuster arthritis treatment. The analysis specifically found that from Vioxx's approval in 1999, through 2003, an estimated 27,785 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths "would have been avoided" had Celebrex been used instead of Vioxx.

Those figures don't come from actual counts, but are projections based on findings from an analysis of a database of patients of Kaiser Permanente, the big health-maintenance organization.

Do you have questions about Vioxx? Are you looking for a Vioxx lawyer? You can call my firm, Schaeffer & Lamere, for a free consultation at (618) 467-8200 or (888) 783-9679 (toll free) if you used Vioxx and suffered any of the following side effects:

• Heart attack;


• Stroke;


• Blood clots;


• Deep vein thrombosis;


• Pulmonary embolism.

You can also send an e-mail telling us what went wrong (click the "e-mail" link). We are attorneys who have had years of experience with pharmaceutical litigation like lawsuits against Merck, which manufactured Vioxx--as your Vioxx attorney, we can help!

Confused About Vioxx? We Can Help

Yesterday, Vioxx was pulled from the market after studies showed the drug, which was used to help to control osteoarthritis, increased the risk of heart attack or stroke.

If you are looking for a Vioxx lawyer, please call Schaeffer & Lamere at (618) 467-8200 or (888) 783-9679 (toll free) if you used Vioxx and suffered any of the following side effects:

• Heart attack;


• Stroke;


• Blood clots;


• Deep vein thrombosis;


• Pulmonary embolism.

You can also send an e-mail telling us what went wrong (click the "e-mail" link). We are attorneys who have had years of experience with pharmaceutical litigation like lawsuits against Merck, which manufactured Vioxx. All consultations are free--as your Vioxx attorney, we can help!

Merck Yanks Vioxx

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News: "Merck Halts Worldwide Sales of Vioxx," by Linda A. Johnson--

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. is halting worldwide sales of its blockbuster arthritis drug Vioxx, once viewed as possibly being able to prevent some cancers, because new data from a clinical trial found an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Its stock price plunged more than 26 percent as the company said the recall will hurt its earnings.

Merck said Thursday that data from the trial showed the increased risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular complications began 18 months after patients started taking Vioxx. About 2 million people worldwide are currently taking Vioxx, according to Merck, and a total of 84 million have taken it since it came on the market with great fanfare in 1999.