Vioxx Lawyers Information: Vioxx Lawyer Credentials, the "Vioxx Recall" - Merck's Withdrawal of Vioxx From the International Market, the Vioxx Studies Demonstrating Increased Incidence of Heart Attack, Stroke, And the Vioxx Legal Issues.

Vioxx Lawyers Ray Henke and Nick Allis:

Vioxx lawyers Nicholas Allis and Raymond L. Henke, the authors of this informational web site, are principles in their respective law offices, the Law Office of Nicholas Allis, and the Henke Law Office. The two nationally regarded pharmaceutical product liability lawyers worked together in the 1980s at the preeminent pharmaceutical law offices of Inner Circle lawyer Jim Butler and have come together again here to jointly author the articles which appear on this Vioxx lawyer information web site.

Vioxx lawyers Allis and Henke are nationally respected pharmaceutical product liability lawyers with over 40 years of trial lawyer experience between them specifically in drug product liability litigation. Vioxx lawyer Henke has been nationally acclaimed for his prosecution of landmark AIDS drug fraud litigation as well as for published landmark federal pharmaceutical product liability class action case law which will contribute to frame the scope of all Vioxx Class Action litigation. If the reader would be interrested in learning more about Vioxx lawyers Allis and Henke, please consult the author's "credentials" page of this web site.

The Vioxx Lawyers Website, Summary of Contents:

Vioxx lawyers Allis and Henke discuss below and on the other substantive pages of this site the Vioxx "recall"; the Vioxx clinical studies which the authors consider significant as identifying the adverse health consequences of Vioxx use; the FDA actions with regard to Vioxx, including its initial warning letter to the manufacturer, Merck & Co., and its health advisory coinciding with Merck's withdrawal of the drug from the market. Vioxx in September 2004. Lawyers Henke and Allis also discuss the the legal paths the Vioxx litigation may take, including Vioxx class action suits and the potential advantages and disadvantages of class action vs. separate prosecution of individual Vioxx cases. Vioxx lawyers Henke and Allis discuss briefly the Vioxx mechanism of action as it may explain the cardiovascular adverse reactions and which also raise concern that other drugs, such as Celebrex, sharing the same mechanism of action, may also need to be carefully reviewed to determine if they too may cause the same adverse reactions.

The Vioxx Lawyers discuss the "Vioxx Recall." Merck & Company's Voluntary Withdrawal of Vioxx from the Market

Merck & Company, the manufacturer of Vioxx, voluntarily withdrew Vioxx from the market worldwide on September 30, 2004. In the media the withdrawal was commonly referred to as the "Vioxx Recall." According to the company's press release announging the "recall," the withdrawal was based upon a placebo controlled efficacy study which had to be stopped because the early data demonstrated that those in the Vioxx group had a doubling in the risk for confirmed myocardial events, including heart attacks and stroke, as well as an increased incidence of other cardiovascular disease and adverse reactions. Merck had been aware for years that substantial evidence demonstrated serious adverse cardiovascular disease in association with Vioxx use. The evidence including clinical studies (including the March 2000 "VIGOR study")and a peer reviewed published article analyzing previous study data (the August 2001 Cleveland Clinic study, published in the Journal of American Medical Association). This earlier study data demonstrated a four fold increased risk of heart attack, as well as increased incidence of stroke and other cardiovascular disease in association with use of the drug. To learn more about the Vioxx studies which preceded the "Vioxx recall" you may consult the "Vioxx Clinical Studies" page of this web site.

The Vioxx Lawyers discuss the Vioxx Clinical Studies - Evidence That Vioxx Is Associated with an Increased Incidence of Heart Attack, Stroke and Other Cardiovascular Problems. Evidence Which Vioxx Lawyers Will Use to Establish Merck Liability.

Vioxx Lawyers Allis and Henke discuss the Vioxx clinical studies briefly here and on a separate page of this site. As indicated above, Merck stated that its withdrawal of Viross from the market was prompted by the aborted efficacy study, when it was determined to the investigators satisfaction that the drug resulted in a statistically significant doubling of the incidence of adverse reactions including heart attack. Vioxx lawyers Allis and Henke observe that Merck's anouncement of the "reason" for its recall may be accurate, in the sense that it may have been the last straw that made it obvious to Merck that it could not hope to continue to profit from this dangerous and lethal drug. These Vioxx lawyers interpret the anouncement as less than fully candid public relations, failing to acknowledge that previous studies dating to 2000 and 2001 had already demonstrated that the drug cause a many-fold increased incidence of heart attacks and strokes. Indeed, the FDA had previously warned Merck that its advertising was false and misleading for its failure to acknowledge the statistically significant findings of increased incidence of heart attack, stroke and other principally cardiovascular adverse reactions.

These Vioxx lawyers suggest that truth is not to be found in manufacturer, industry, or even FDA announcements. The truth is to be found in the Viroxx studies, in the black and while data points, in the meathodology and in the statistical analyses, and in the dates upon which that data and its implications became known to Merck. In particular, these Vioxx attorneys find important the VIGOR study, and the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center Study, discussed at the "Viroxx Studies" page of this website.

Vioxx lawyers Allis and Henke urge you to consult the "Vioxx Studies" page for an in depth discussion of the extant Viroxx literature. .

Vioxx Litigation - These Vioxx Lawyers Discuss Thier Perspective On The Most Viable Legal Bases on Which Merck Will be Held Liable For Heart Attack, Stroke and Other Injuries Caused by Vioxx. The Vioxx Lawyers Discuss the Merits of Vioxx Class Action and Necessary Limitations on Vioxx Class Action.

Vioxx lawyers will approach the Vioxx litigation on a number of legal theories or by class actions asserting various legal bases. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach a Vioxx lawyer may chose in the representation of his client. Furthermore, the evidence Vioxx lawyers obtain from discovery will play a significant role in determining the causes of action and strategies that they will elect to acheive the best results for their clients. Of particular interest will be the Merck in-house documents and the depositions of the Merck company hierarchy and persons most knowledgeable within the company. Most significant will be what the company knew and when, and in particular, what it's officers decided at each step. The facts will determine the legal theories that Vioxx lawyers adopt and will also determine the Vioxx lawyers' choice of remedies, including punitive damages. The facts of the individual Vioxx case, in turn, these Vioxx lawyers believe, should determine on a case by case basis whether class action or by separate prosecution of the particular Vioxx claimant's individual litigation is preferable.

These Vioxx lawyers discuss the potential theories of action on the "Vioxx Litigation" page of this site, as well as the subject of punitive damages and the Vioxx lawyers present a general discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of class action for particular categories of Vioxx claimants..

Vioxx (Generic: Rofecoxib) is an NSAID Drug, Also Celebrex and Bextra.

Vioxx lawyers Allis and Henke also discuss the mechanism of action of Vioxx on a separate page of this website because it is considered by these Vioxx lawyers that the mechanism of action may provide insight into the means by whichVioxx causes heart attack, stroke and its other cardiovascular adverse events. Scientists correctly make a distinction between "association" and "cause" and so it is important to demonstrate that the increased incidence was caused by the drug. Often times causation is established by demonstrating the mechanism by which the drug directly causes the adverse reaction. In the case of Virox, the mechanism may already be known. As the Vioxx lawyers discuss in greater detail on the separate page, Vioxx is a COX-2 selective, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Vioxx is considered to be effective for its indications by the drug's preventing the formation of inflammatory prostaglandins. Inflammatory prostaglandins are produced by the enzyme "cyclooxygenase 2," sometimes shortened to "Cox-2," which are believed to cause inflammation and pain. They are also considered to prevent blood cells from sticking together. Vioxx is thus known as "Cox-2 inhibitors." It is tentatively reasonable to hypothesize that this mechanism of interfering with the factor which prevents blood cells from sticking together may explain the increased blood clotting and other cardiovascular events found to be associated with Vioxx use, and therefore, provide evidence of causation.

The foregoing is intended as a summary table of contents. The Vioxx Lawyers Henke and Allis recomend for more complete information on the Vioxx Recall, Merck's announcement, the FDA warning letter and anouncement, the Vioxx studies, and these authors discussion of the possible directions the Vioxx litigation will take, please consult the individual pages of this site.