MSD doctor claims Vioxx was not harmful

A former member of the MSD development team that worked on Vioxx in the 1990s has said that the MSD drug was not as dangerous as critics have suggested.

In the latest from the Vioxx product liability trial, Dr Briggs Morrison said that the figures showing that Vioxx caused more deaths than a rival were an inaccurate reflection of the reasons behind the statistics.

According to Reuters, Dr Morrison said it was not that Vioxx was more dangerous, but that Naproxen (one of the family of non-steroid anti-inflammatories, or NSAIDs) actually protected the heart.

“The assumption was that Vioxx was neutral for cardiovascular events,” Dr Morrison said, Reuters reports.

He went on to clarify his point further, saying that the reason for increased heart attacks among the 8,000 patients studied in 2000 “is because NSAIDs were cardio-protective, not because Vioxx was harmful”.

In the region of 10,000 people are suing MSD over claims that the Vioxx drug was harmful and that the company was misleading by hiding the risks associated.

The trial in Atlantic City, New Jersey continues.

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