FDA Advisory Panel to Review Safety of Merck's Cox-2 Arcoxia

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel will review in April Merck & Co. Inc.'s request to sell its selective Cox-2 inhibitor Arcoxia (etoricoxib) in the United States for the treatment of osteoarthritis, the FDA has announced.

The federal agency said on March 2 that its Arthritis Advisory Committee, made up of outside medical experts, will meet April 12 and make recommendations to the FDA about whether Arcoxia is safe for use in the United States.

While the FDA is not required to follow the advice of such panels, the agency has typically done so.

Merck says …