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MSD Launches New Pain-killer in China
A world leading pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) started Saturday to launch its new pain-killer Vioxx in the Chinese market.
The State Drug Administration (SDA) issued the go-ahead of the anti-arthritis subscription drug, which will be produced in China by MSD's joint venture in Hangzhou, east Zhejiang Province.
Statistics show that more than 355 million people in the world suffer from arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and China has over 100 million.
Different from the traditional anti-arthritis drug of NSAIDs, Vioxx, or its medicinal name of rofecoxib, would result in much less side effects such as gastric ulcers or enteric bleeding.
"Early diagnosis and proper treatment help relieve pain of patients," said Dong Yi, a rheumatoid professor at Beijing Union Medical College Hospital.
When people's living standard is continuously raised, China has seen a high incidence of arthritis, which is reportedly caused by overstrain, gluttony and endocrine disorder, said Lu Houshan, an orthopedics professor at the People's Hospital attached to Beijing University.
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