Biotech Week, "Merck, a textbook case of pharmaceutical industry woes"

          The problems besetting pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. also plague most of its competitors: falling profits, patent expirations, generic competition, the lack of new blockbuster drugs and pressures to make medicines more affordable. But the contrast to the heady days and double-digit profit growth of the 1990s is particularly striking at Merck, which has fallen in just a few years from the world's biggest drug maker to No. 3 as competitors merged and leapfrogged ahead.
          "The key to success in this industry is novel medicines and medicines that are priced competitively," said Merck's chairman.
          But this fall Merck canceled testing of the fourth drug in mid- or late-stage development since February, one of which was expected to be its first entrant in the lucrative antidepressant market. Merck also announced an unprecedented layoff of 4400 workers - 7% of its global work force - as part of a drive to make the company more efficient.

CBS Market Watch, "Merck seeks OK for new arthritis medication"

          Merck & Co. shares rose Wednesday after the company resubmitted a U.S. marketing application for Arcoxia, a highly anticipated arthritis medication.
          For the year, Merck shares are down 18 percent because of concerns that the drugmaker doesn't have enough new promising medications in development.
          Re-filing of the application, announced late Tuesday, had been expected. Merck CEO Raymond Gilmartin affirmed in early December that the No. 3 pharmaceutical company was on track to resubmit Arcoxia to the Food and Drug Administration before the end of the month.
          Merck had withdrawn the initial application for Arcoxia in March 2002 to gather more information about its potential to treat an inflammatory condition of the spine.
          Arcoxia, which is already available in 38 countries, is seen as the next-generation version of Vioxx, Merck's blockbuster arthritis medication.
          Merck has forecast that combined 2004 sales of Vioxx and Arcoxia will be between $2.6 billion and $2.8 billion.

AFX News Limited, "Merck seeks OK for new arthritis medication"

          Merck & Co. said late Tuesday it had resubmitted to the FDA a marketing application for Arcoxia, an arthritis medication. Merck had withdrawn the initial application for Arcoxia in March 2002 to gather more information about its potential to treat an inflammatory condition of the spine. The No. 3 drugmaker is positioning Arcoxia as the next-generation version of its arthritis blockbuster Vioxx.

Heart Disease Weekly, "Inflammation: Vioxx shows no effect on markers of cardiovascular disease"

          In the largest randomized controlled trial yet of the effect of a COX-2 inhibitor on the function of blood vessels and markers of inflammation, including C-reactive protein, rofecoxib (brand name Vioxx) did not appear to have any favorable or adverse effects in patients with coronary artery disease who were receiving low-dose aspirin, according to a new study.
          "I was surprised that rofecoxib had no effect, as I had originally hypothesized that it would both improve endothelial dysfunction and reduce signs of inflammation," said Lawrence M. Title, MD at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. "I was more surprised that we saw no effect on the markers of inflammation, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), given that rofecoxib is an anti-inflammatory drug," he added.
          The study appeared in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.