The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has reportedly rejected a request by Merck and Co. on Friday to market Arcoxia, a successor to its withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx in the United States after a 20-1 vote some weeks ago.

Arcoxia falls in the same category of drugs as Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex that have been withdrawn from the market in September 2004, after studies showed they doubled the risk for heart attack and stroke

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug Celebrex (Pfizer, Inc., NY, NY; generic: celecoxib) for a new use on Friday, in order to treat juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) for children as young as two years of age.

The FDA's advisory panel had recommended the painkiller for this use back in November of 2006, with a vote of 15 to 1. The one opposing vote cited the lack of long-term, established data tracking the drug's safety for use in children. However, the 15 votes approving the recommendation claimed the risks involved outweighed the benefits

A review of pain relievers has found that some are safer than others. For instance, a widely-used medicine may carry as much risk of heart disease as Vioxx, an arthritis drug taken off the market two years ago.

Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug or NSAID has been around for decades and is widely prescribed throughout the world, particularly in Europe. Common doses were found to increase the risk of "cardiovascular events", primarily heart attack or sudden death by as much as 40%

New research shows the popular pain reliever Celebrex may pose a danger to the heart. Doctors have long prescribed the medicine to prevent colorectal polyps, which can lead to cancer.

In two studies, doctors studied whether the drug would prevent polyps from reappearing after having them removed. Celebrex was successful in preventing the growth of advanced polyps

On Wednesday, tests conducted by the Food and Drug Administration revealed that fake versions of Lipitor and other widely used prescription drugs are available on the Internet through Web sites linked to a Canadian pharmacy.

The FDA cautioned consumers who bought drugs through the 10 Web sites and said they should not use the medications because they may not be safe. The sites include rxnorth.com, canadiandrugstore.com and rxbyfax.com