Merck's Vioxx Nightmare

On Sept. 30, 2004, pharmaceutical giant Merck announced it would voluntarily recall its worldwide stock of Vioxx, an arthritis drug that had brought in $2.5 billion in sales the previous year. Merck executives said the recall was a precautionary measure spurred by a study that found patients who took the drug for at least 18 months incurred more heart attacks and strokes. In 2007, Merck paid $4.85 billion to settle 27,000 lawsuits from people affected by injuries or death associated with the drug.

默克萬絡（Vioxx）的噩夢

在2004年的9月30號，制藥巨頭默克公司宣布將自愿召回世界范圍內的存貨，這種治療關節炎癥的藥物在過去的一年銷售收入達25億美元。默克的高級官員稱此次召回是對一項研究結果的預防措施，該研究顯示服藥此藥物超過18各月的患者將更有可能突發心臟病或中風。在2007年，默克公司為有關服用該藥導致疾病或死亡的27000起訴訟付出了485億美元。

來源:可可英語 http://www.ccdyzl.cn/read/201007/107881.shtml