Study Says Merck & Co., Inc. (Jobs)'s Vioxx Danger Begins Earlier than Stated

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The increased heart risk from Vioxx, Merck & Co's withdrawn arthritis medicine, begins much earlier than after 18 months of use, according to a study that contradicts assertions by the drug maker and its scientists. The 2,434-patient study, published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, was halted early when the medicine was pulled from the market in September 2004.