Vioxx was approved for kids... if you can believe that.

Did you know that Merck sought approval to give Vioxx to kids?

"WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. -- Physicians and parents of children afflicted with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) -- a debilitating type of arthritis that can occur in toddlers to teenagers -- now have a new choice for symptom relief. VIOXX(R) (rofecoxib), Merck & Co. Inc.'s once-daily arthritis and pain medicine, received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the relief of the signs and symptoms of the most common forms of JRA (pauciarticular or polyarticular) in children two years and older and who weigh at least 22 pounds. VIOXX is now the first and only COX-2 specific inhibitor approved for the treatment of JRA, based on clinical research that established safety and effectiveness in children as young as two years of age and who weigh at least 22 pounds."

Thank goodness this was only a month before the drug was pulled off the market. Had it been on the market longer, who knows what might have happened.

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