Merck & Company executives have long insisted that
they never pursued a clinical trial to directly study
the heart risks of the pain drug Vioxx because other
tests they were conducting would supply those answers
just as quickly. But previously undisclosed company
documents show that the drug maker was poised to
begin a major cardiovascular study of the drug in
2002, and abruptly dropped the project just before it
was set to start. The trial was scheduled to produce
data by March 2004 but may have provided answers
about Vioxx's risks even earlier if patients had
shown ill effects. It was not until September 2004
that Merck halted a separate study when patients in
that trial experienced heart attacks and strokes at
twice the rate of those receiving a placebo. At the
same time, Merck withdrew Vioxx from the market.
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