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The Latest: Startup could bring back Vioxx for hemophilia

Posted November 21, 2017 6:00 am

The Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The Latest on the possible return of Vioxx (all times local):

10:30 a.m.

Could the once-popular arthritis pill Vioxx (VEYE-ochs) get a second life? A startup pharmaceutical company hopes so.

In 2004, Merck & Co. voluntarily pulled the blockbuster drug amid evidence it doubled the chances of having a heart attack or stroke.

Now tiny Tremeau (treh-MOH') Pharmaceuticals is working to Vioxx back, to treat severe joint pain caused by the bleeding disorder hemophilia. That would be for far fewer patients than the millions who took Vioxx pills for arthritis and other chronic pain.

Tremeau announced Tuesday that U.S. regulators have designated it an orphan drug, which brings financial and other benefits. If it's approved in a few years, following patient testing, doctors could again legally prescribe it to anyone.

6 a.m.

Could the once-popular arthritis pill Vioxx (VEYE-ochs) get a second life? A startup pharmaceutical company hopes so.

In 2004, Merck & Co. voluntarily pulled the blockbuster drug amid evidence it doubled the chances of having a heart attack or stroke.

Now tiny Tremeau (treh-MOH') Pharmaceuticals is working to bring back Vioxx to treat severe joint pain caused by the bleeding disorder hemophilia. That would be for far fewer patients than the millions who took Vioxx pills for arthritis and other chronic pain.

If it's approved in a few years, following patient testing, doctors could again legally prescribe it to anyone.

Tremeau was announcing Tuesday that U.S. regulators have designated it an orphan drug, which brings financial and other benefits.

In this Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, photo, Brad Sippy, chief executive officer of Tremeau Pharmaceuticals, Inc., stands for a portrait, in Cambridge, Mass. Tremeau Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a small startup trying to bring the recalled painkiller Vioxx back to the market. They are seeking FDA approval for patients with hemophilia with severe pain, but once on the market, doctors could go back to prescribing it to anyone with pain. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

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