Ministry Supports Recall of Arthritis and Pain Relief Drug

Media release

1 October 2004

Ministry Supports Recall of Arthritis and Pain Relief Drug

The Ministry of Health supports the recall of the pain relieving drug Vioxx following reports of a slightly greater risk from heart attack and stroke for people taking the medicine for an extended period of time.

Merck Sharp and Dohme today withdrew Vioxx worldwide and is recalling stocks from wholesalers and pharmacies in New Zealand. The company will reimburse the cost of unused medicines for any patients who no longer wish to take the medicine.

Medsafe Pharmacovigilance Advisor Dr Sharon Sime, from the Ministry of Health’s medicine regulatory arm, says anyone taking the medicine who is concerned should stop taking Vioxx and talk to their doctor about other treatment options.

Dr Sime says providing advice about which pain relief medicine is safest is difficult without knowing the circumstances of each individual which is why it is best for people to talk to their GP.

The medicine is prescribed for treatment of pain, including period pain, arthritis pain and migraine and is thought to be used by more than 15,000 New Zealand patients.

Vioxx belongs to the relatively new class of anti-inflammatory medicines called Cox II inhibitors used as a treatment for patients who may have a risk of gastric bleeding with other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories.

She says the risks identified in the latest study may be considered to be relatively low, and the increased risks were only found in people who had been taking the medicine for more than 18 months.