"Last night a group of independent scientists published their analysis of all the relevant clinical trial data on Vioxx - which has the generic name rofecoxib - that would have been available to Merck in 2000."
According to the Guardian article, their findings indicate that rofecoxib should have been withdrawn several years earlier.
They also found that patients are at risk after only a few months, contrary to Merck's statement that problems only occur after 18 months on the drug, and that the risk does not depend on the dose of the drug taken. [The Guardian UK]
