AS many as 10,000 Britons could have been harmed by the painkiller Vioxx and could sue the American drug company that manufactured it, according to analysis by Dr David Graham, the US government scientist who turned whistleblower last year.

Dr Graham’s verdict came after report yesterday that claimed that as many as 2,000 British patients may have died after using the painkiller. Families of the deceased could join forces to sue Merck, the New Jersey-based drug-maker that axed Vioxx after it was found to cause deadly heart attacks and strokes.

The Sunday Times said that 103 Britons died after taking Vioxx but estimated that the drug could have killed as many as 2,000, based on doctors’ reports. Dr Graham says that many thousands more patients in the UK will have suffered damage to their cardiovascular system as a result of taking Vioxx and urged anyone who took the drug to see a heart specialist. “I believe any estimates on the number of people effected by this drug are just the tip of the iceberg,” Dr Graham said. “Based on data we have now I would have no hesitation at saying 10,000 people in Britain could have been affected.” Estimates show that as many as 400,000 people were prescribed the drug in the UK.

Dr Graham is the associate director for science and medicine at the Food and Drug Administration office for drug safety and, as such, is one of the top drug watchdogs in the US.

Last year, he forced Merck to take Vioxx off the shelves by revealing damaging reports that showed large numbers of people who took the drug for 18 months or more had a high risk of heart attack and stroke.

Merck suffered its first loss in the courts last week as Carol Ernst, the widow of a Texas fitness instructor who died in his sleep of a heart attack after taking Vioxx, was awarded $253.4 million (£141 million) in damages. It was revealed during the trial that Merck had determined that the company would make an extra $229 million profit by delaying an FDA warning about the drug.

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