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| Empirical formula | C17H14O4S |
| Molecular weight | 314.4 |
| Bioavailability (Oral) | 93% |
| Metabolism | hepatic |
| Elimination half-life | 17 hours |
| Excretion | biliary/renal |
| Pregnancy category | C ( Australia) |
| Legal status | withdrawn |
| Routes of administration | oral |
Rofecoxib is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ( NSAID) that was used in the treatment of osteoarthritis, acute pain conditions, and dysmenorrhoea. Formerly marketed by Merck & Co. under the trade names Vioxx, Ceoxx and Ceeoxx, it was voluntarily withdrawn from the market in 2004 because of concerns about increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
Rofecoxib was one of the most widely used drugs ever to be withdrawn from the market. Worldwide, over two million people were prescribed Vioxx at the time. In 2003, Merck earned US$2.5 billion from Vioxx sales. Rofecoxib was available on prescriptionPrescription has various meanings. Generally, a prescription is a statement that someone ought to do or not to do something. Under the civil law or civil code prescriptions are those periods during which rights and obligations are legally enforceable. as tablets and as an oral suspension.
Rofecoxib belongs to the group of NSAIDs known as coxibs (cyclooxygenase inhibitors). Like other coxibs, including celecoxibCelecoxib is a medicinal drug best known under the brand name Celebrex . Celecoxib is used in the treatment of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, acute pain, painful menstruation and menstrual symptoms, and to reduce numbers of colon and rectum growths, it was a COX-2 inhibitor - acting specifically on one form of the cyclooxygenaseCyclooxygenase COX is an enzyme that is responsible for formation of important biological mediators called prostanoids (including prostaglandins, prostacyclin and thromboxane). Pharmacological inhibition of COX can provide relief from the symptoms of infl (COX) enzyme, whereas other previous NSAIDs inhibited both COX-1 and COX-2. This specificity allows rofecoxib and other COX-2 inhibitors to reduce inflammationInflammation is the first response of the immune system to infection or irritation and may be referred to as the innate cascade. Inflammation is characterized by the following quintet: redness rubor , heat calor , swelling tumor , pain dolor and dysfuncti (and pain) while minimizing undesired gastrointestinal adverse effects (such as stomach ulcers) that are common with non-selective NSAIDs.
Interestingly, at the time of its withdrawal, rofecoxib was the only coxib with clinical evidence of its superior gastrointestinal adverse effect profile over conventional NSAIDs. This was largely based on the VIGOR (Vioxx GI Outcomes Research) study, which compared the efficacy and adverse effect profiles of rofecoxib and naproxen. (Bombardier et al., 2000)