Miracle Cure for Big Pharma

But Rubin offered a darker prognosis for Cox-2 inhibitors that are not already on the market. He said that drug companies must now clear "extremely high" hurdles to gain approval of Cox-2 inhibitors. And he raised questions about whether Vioxx -- approved years ago -- can realistically make a comeback.

A panel member on Friday classified Vioxx as the most toxic drug in its class. Others continued to raise questions about Cox-2 drugs as a whole.

"Do you really need these drugs?" asked Robert Temple, a physician who discussed Cox-2 safety trials on Friday. "We really don't know about the whole range of these drugs. I'm not entirely comfortable ... saying we know what we need to."

Safety concerns about the painkillers had sent Pfizer and Merck shares to 52-week lows at various times in recent months.

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