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Pfizer
announced that patients who took a high dosage of Celebrex, its
top moneymaking painkiller, were in the higher risk bracket for
heart attacks. This announcement was made right on the heels of
the withdrawal of its one-time big competitor, Vioxx, which was
stripped from store shelves in September.
Pfizer admitted that one of two cancer trials revealed an increased
cardiovascular risk over placebo, while the other trial revealed
no greater cardiovascular risk.
The results of this study prompted one cardiologist to discontinue
prescribing Celebrex and all other COX-2 inhibitors.
Celebrex and Vioxx fall into the category of painkillers known
as cox-2-inhibitors. These drugs have gained extensive popularity
among arthritis sufferers due to their effectiveness in alleviating
arthritis pain without side effects such as upset stomach and bleeding.
A spokesperson from Pfizer stated the company had no plans to remove
Celebrex from the market. Celebrex also just so happens to be one
of the biggest moneymakers for the drug company pulling in $1.9
billion in sales in 2003. Bextra trailed close behind with total
sales of $687 million.
When problems with Bextra arose, the FDA took action by placing
warning labels on the bottles warning patients of potential heart
problems linked to taking the drug in people who had recently undergone
heart bypass surgery. In regard to the announcement on Celebrex,
the FDA responded by saying they would be studying the new data
on Celebrex before taking any necessary actions. Until these actions
are determined, they encouraged doctors to offer alternative treatments.
Pfizer, on the other hand, has plans in the works to conduct an
extensive trial next year to verify the heart-safety of Celebrex
in arthritis patients who recently experienced a heart attack.
USA
Today December 17, 2004
Yahoo
News December 17, 2004
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