November 18, 1999: VIGOR Study Indicates Risk of Heart Problems among Patients Taking Vioxx

At the VIGOR safety panel’s second meeting (see also January 1999 and October 3 or 4, 1999), panel members discuss concerns over the “excess deaths and cardiovascular adverse experiences” observed among patients taking Vioxx. [US Food and Drug Administration, 2/1/2001, pp. 5 ] As of November 1, 1999, 79 patients out of the 4,000 taking the drug have experienced serious heart problems or have died, compared with 41 patients taking naproxen. Minutes of the meeting note that “while the trends are disconcerting, the numbers of events are small.” [National Public Radio, 6/8/2006]