THE VIOXX SCANDAL

Episode 203 | Historical EventsIn this History episode we focus on the Vioxx scandal — how Merck's blockbuster painkiller reached 80 million patients worldwide while the company manipulated safety data showing a 400 percent increase in heart attack risk. The VIGOR trial showed the cardiovascular danger as early as December 1999. The drug wasn't withdrawn until September 2004. In between: five years of misleading clinical presentations, ghostwritten scientific articles published under researchers' names, and an FDA scientist whose internal warnings were suppressed by his superiors.We examine the specific mechanics of the cover-up — the naproxen defense, the misrepresented VIGOR data, the September 2001 FDA warning letter that Merck received and ignored — and what the Lancet estimated as 88,000 Americans who had heart attacks from taking Vioxx, 38,000 of whom died. FDA scientist David Graham's Senate testimony compared the failure to allowing two to four jumbo jets to crash every week for five years.No Merck executive was ever criminally charged. The FDA Amendments Act of 2010 was built in part from what Vioxx exposed about the regulatory gaps between drug approval and post-market safety.This podcast features narration with a synthetic AI voice.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/history-mystery/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy