Encouraging CV profile for Merck & Co's Arcoxia
US drug major Merck & Co has reported preliminary analyses from its ongoing MEDAL study which indicate that the rate of confirmed thrombotic cardiovascular events was similar between its next-generation selective COX-2 inhibitor Arcoxia (etiricoxib) and diclofenac, a traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
Arcoxia belongs to the same class of painkillers as Merck's former blockbuster Vioxx (rofecoxib), which the firm withdrew in Septemeber 2004 after heart attacks were linked to its use (Marketletters passim).
In the trial's prespecified per protocol analysis of the primary endpoint, the relative risk of confirmed thrombotic CV events between Arcoxia and diclofenac was 0.95 (95% CI: 0.81, 1.11), and in the intent-to-treat analysis, the relative risk of CV events between the two drugs was was 1.05 (95% CI: 0.93, 1.19), consistent with the primary per-protocol analysis.
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