What did Merck know, and when did they know it?

It's time once again for an update in the sordid tale of a cover-up that has shocked a nation - a conspiracy of greed, deception, intimidation, corruption, and mass death. Of course, I'm talking about the Vioxx debacle…

An ongoing scandal I call "Slaughtergate."

Since it has been a while since I reported on the story, I'll need to recap a few of the high spots I've reported in the past for your refreshment (or for you newer readers), and so that you'll understand all the NEW developments in context.

Timeline :

• Merck may have used a technicality in its data collection methods to conceal heart-attack deaths and coronary events in a comparison study between Vioxx and tried-and-true pain reliever Naproxen. Factoring in these additional events showed Vioxx to be five times as hazardous as Naproxen (Daily Dose, 5/1/2006 and 5/2/2006)
  
  
• At least five times between 1999 and Vioxx's removal from the market in September of 2004, the drug had come under fire from members of the scientific and medical community for potentially increasing heart attack and stroke risks. Yet despite these, Merck claimed its actions were "prompt and decisive" in the name of public health once it learned of a correlation between the drug and an increase in coronary events (Daily Dose, 11/29/04)
  
  
• Merck internal memoranda prove that the company tried to hastily re-formulate Vioxx in late 2000 to offset its cardiovascular risks. By 2001, the company had filed an application with the U.S. Patent Office to combine Vioxx with a chemical designed to add a measure of HEART PROTECTION to the drug. (Daily Dose, 7/18/2005)
  
  
• The FDA silenced one of their top experts who raised concerns about Vioxx's safety. Testifying before a panel of Senate investigators, this heroic doctor told of intense pressure and intimidation by his colleagues at the FDA for raising a red flag about the drug's safety. He further testified to the generally hostile environment at the agency with regard to ANY evidence of drug safety issues. The architect of a large-scale study on arthritis medications, the good doctor concluded that Vioxx tripled the risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac events over long periods. He was scheduled to present the findings at a conference in late August of 2004 - but when the FDA reviewed the synopsis of his presentation, they put the kibosh on it! (Daily Dose, 10/12/2004)