Vioxx's Indian make still on sale

KOUNTEYA SINHA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2005 12:06:38 AM ]

NEW DELHI: Arthritis drugs Rofecoxib and Valdecoxib, both of which are globally banned, are openly available at many chemist shops across the Capital.

These drugs, widely used by arthritis patients needing anti-inflammatory painkillers, are also banned in India.

This reporter visited over a dozen chemist shops in south Delhi, all of which had stocks of the two banned drugs. What's worse, not a single chemist stopped this reporter from purchasing the drugs.

Hearing this, a shocked drug controller-general of India Ashwini Kumar told TOI, "This is unfortunate. I can still understand Valdecoxib being sold.

Because the ban on the drug came just three weeks back, many retailers might still not be aware. But the ban on Rofecoxib is over a year old. It should have been shelved totally. The fault lies with the retailer and manufacturer."

He added, "We have notified all state drug authorities, chemist associations and manufacturers about the ban on these two drugs. Authorities have also been told to carry out inspections from time to time. The problem, however, lies in India's complex distribution system.

"Unlike US, where companies have a monopoly over a drug and has seven to eight wholesalers, in India, there are a few hundred manufacturers and an equal number of retailers, doing business in every street. The DCAI can't go to every chemist personally to check."

Rofecoxib is the Indian version of the American painkiller Vioxx. Once considered a miracle drug, it was withdrawn in 2004 after a study concluded it could double risk of a heart attack.

On August 19, 2005, a US jury found Merck, the makers of Vioxx, "negligent" in the death of Robert C Ernst and awarded his widow Carol Ernst $253.4 million in damages. Ernst died in 2001 after taking Vioxx for eight months.

Valdecoxib, meanwhile, was withdrawn from India, just three weeks back, almost four months after this was done in US.

The generic version of this drug, invented by Pfizer, was withdrawn because it posed potential risk of heart attack and serious skin reactions like toxic epidermal necrolysis.