More Cox-2 Chaos
In February, an FDA advisory committee met to discuss the safety of the class of drugs known as Cox-2 inhibitors. Of course, this is the class getting a lot of press lately that includes Vioxx and Celebrex. Pfizer and Merck pharmaceutical companies where there, defending their drugs and making their plea to keep their money-makers on the market.
At the conclusion of the three day seminar, the 32 member panel voted on a variety of issues including whether these drugs increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, and if the drugs should be allowed to stay on the market. The panel voted unanimously that all Cox-2's increase the risk of cardiovascular events (a fact that Pfizer continues to deny to this day). More surprisingly, the panel also voted 17 to 15 in favor of letting Vioxx return to the market. The decision was summed up on the front page of the Chicago Tribune: “Vioxx Returns to the Market.” (A bit of irresponsible journalism, but that is another post for another day).
With all the evidence that is available indicating a serious risk, how could the committee vote this way? Well, thanks to the NY Times, the decision is now more clear. Ten members of the panel had financial ties to drug companies (i.e., Pfizer and Merck). Nine of these ten voted in favor of allowing Vioxx to return to the market.
One can safely guess the result of this vote without the financial ties. The conflict of interest here is as obvious as a bull in a china shop, and just as dangerous. It is doubtful that Merck will decide to put Vioxx back on the market, but the opportunity should not even be presented. This is where the committee failed. The result is that Vioxx may return to the market to do more harm to more people, and it is back to business for Pfizer, Celebrex and Bextra. We'll see where Cox-2's are in a year from now.