Legislative Alert!

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Vioxx, produced by Merck & Co. The manufacturer said the drug, to be available by prescription only, should be in pharmacies by mid-June.

The dosage is once a day, and the cost of the prescription medication is expected to be between $2.38 and $2.52 per tablet. It will also be available in liquid form.

In tests on acute pain, Merck officials said the drug worked well on patients who had wisdom teeth extracted or hip or knee replacements or who suffered severe menstrual pain.

Vioxx is a type of drug known as a Cox-2 inhibitor, the second such drug on the market. The other, Monsanto's Celebrex, went on sale last year for arthritis sufferers, and more than 2 million prescriptions were written in the first three months it was on the market.

Advisers to the FDA recommended approval of Vioxx last month.

The newly developed Cox-2 inhibitors relieve aches and inflammation with fewer stomach-damaging side effects.

Millions of people depend on aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and other pills called ``nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,'' or NSAIDs, to relieve pain.

But NSAIDs can cause ulcers, stomach bleeding and other gastrointestinal side effects, especially in long-term users. They are blamed for sending 107,000 people to hospitals every year and for killing 16,500.

NSAIDs target an enzyme called cyclo-oxegenase, which is responsible for much inflammation, but it exists in two types. Cox-2 is believed to cause inflammation, while Cox-1 protects the stomach lining. NSAIDs attack both. So scientists developed more specific drugs to target just Cox-2.

While Vioxx is the second Cox-2 inhibitor, it could prove to be a formidable competitor, especially since it was approved for more uses than Celebrex.

Vioxx will include a label noting that rare instances of gastrointestinal bleeding were reported among users during trials and urging physicians to watch for the possibility.