New York, New York, 30 September 2004 1. Wide of Merck news conference 2. Cutaway of media 3. Cutaway camera person 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Raymond V. Gilmartin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Merck and Company, Inc.: "We are voluntarily withdrawing Vioxx effective today. We are taking this action because we believe it best serves the interests of patients. We believe it would have been possible to continue to market Vioxx with labelling that would incorporate these new data. However, given the availability of alternative therapies and the questions raised by the data, we concluded that a voluntary withdrawal is the responsible course to take." FILE: Location unknown, Recent 5. Various of Vioxx drug being bottled New York, New York, 30 September 2004 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Raymond V. Gilmartin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Merck and Company, Inc.: "And as a result of this decision, the company currently expects earnings per share to be negatively affected by fifty to sixty cents." FILE: Location unknown, Recent 7. Various of Vioxx drug being produced 8. Merck laboratories New York, New York, 30 September 2004 9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Robert Langreth, Senior Editor, Forbes Magazine: "Well this is an absolute disaster for Merck. It's one of their biggest products, 2.5 (b) billion dollars in sales, and that's all gone. This (Vioxx), when they introduced it in 1999 was going to be their primary growth driver for the future, and now it's gone, so that's an absolute disaster. One of the analysts I was talking to said that people were already reducing estimates for next year by 70 cents and he was saying that's just way, way too low. You're going to have reduce estimates enormously for next year. And, compounding the problem, Merck loses patent protection on its biggest selling drug, the cholesterol fighting drug Zocor 2006, and now it will be without Vioxx and it is going to be without Zocor soon. Another question to look at is the legal liability ramifications for Merck. This could be a huge, huge legal liability question. Every time a drug gets recalled, you see class action lawsuits. And here is a very popular drug used by millions and millions of people." FILE: New Jersey, Recent 10. Exteriors of Merck research labs FILE: New York, Recent 11. Pfizer (maker of Celebrex) world headquarters in New York City STORYLINE US pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. has halted worldwide sales of its popular arthritis drug Vioxx, after new data from clinical trials found an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. The company's stock price plunged more than 26 percent as the company announced the recall will hurt its earnings. Merck said on Thursday that data from the trial showed the increased risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular complications began 18 months after patients started taking Vioxx. Vioxx was once viewed as possibly being able to prevent some cancers. Merck estimates that about 2 (m) million people worldwide are currently taking Vioxx and a total of 84 (m) million have taken it since it came on the market with great fanfare in 1999. The data comes from a three-year study aimed at showing that Vioxx at a 25 milligram dose prevents recurrence of polyps in the colon and rectum. Such polyps can turn cancerous. The trial was stopped after Merck discovered the higher heart risk compared to patients taking dummy pills. Medical experts advised patients to stop taking Vioxx and consult their doctor about alternatives, but said patients should not panic because the risk of a heart attack was still relatively low. Merck, the world's third-biggest drug maker, announced the news before the stock market opened. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/66a49d284b530afbab07bb14a525ee5b Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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