Merck says Vioxx risk unchanged by data correction

Merck & Co said on Monday that it stands by the original findings of the study that led to the withdrawal of its pain drug Vioxx from the market, despite a correction to the description of how some of the data were analyzed.

Merck said it still believes the data from the study confirm that the increased risk of heart attack and stroke from Vioxx begins only after the medicine has been taken for 18 months. However, The New England Journal of Medicine cast doubts on that conclusion earlier on Monday by issuing an early release of a paper by a Harvard biostatistician. He concluded that the data were misinterpreted and the 18-month risk cut-off point for increased cardiovascular risk was not valid.

The drug maker, which is facing more than 11,500 lawsuits from people who claim to have been harmed by the drug, said the debate over the study does not change its commitment to defend its once $2.5 billion a year product on a case-by-case basis rather than discuss any settlement options.

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