The Heart -- Prominent cardiologist Dr Marvin Konstam (Tufts University Medical Center, Boston, MA) agreed to be lead author on a 2001 Circulation paper about the COX-2 inhibitor rofecoxib (Vioxx, Merck) [1], which was written in-house by Merck scientists, according to claims made in a federal court in Australia last week [2]. The paper was designed to deflect safety criticisms, some experts believe, following the publication of an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) two months previously that first demonstrated an increase in cardiovascular side effects with the drug [3]. Rofecoxib was not withdrawn from worldwide sale until 2004.
