Startup could bring back Vioxx for hemophilia

Small startup Tremeau Pharmaceuticals is engineering a comeback of Vioxx, which at one time delivered pain relief to millions of people with arthritis or other chronic pain. The former Merck & Co.

Small startup Tremeau Pharmaceuticals is engineering a comeback of Vioxx, which at one time delivered pain relief to millions of people with arthritis or other chronic pain. The former Merck & Co. product was taken off the market in 2004 after it was found to significantly inflate the risk of heart attack or stroke, but Tremeau is angling to reintroduce it as a treatment for severe joint pain associated with hemophilia. Vioxx has already received an orphan drug classification from U.S. regulators and could be approved within a few years, after patient testing has been conducted.