Merck Fires Back at Medical Journal

The top editors of the New England Journal of Medicine resumed their criticism of a study, sponsored by Merck (MRK Quote), on the arthritis drug Vioxx, repeating that the November 2000 article should be corrected.

Officials from Merck and other authors of the article responded in separate letters to the JournalWednesday, saying their manuscript followed proper standards of research and presentation.

"Our original article followed appropriate clinical trial principles and does not require a correction," says the response of the non-Merck researchers, including Dr. Claire Bombardier, of the University Health Network, who was the lead author for the clinical trial, known as VIGOR. ...