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Class action suit against Pfizer over Bextra filed in Chicago

 

-April 11, 2005

Bextra was taken off the market on April 7, 2005, six months after a similar drug Vioxx was also removed from the market. Both belonging to the COX-2 inhibitors class of drugs, last September's Vioxx recall announcement led to serious safety concerns regarding the entire group of drugs - Merck & Co.'s Vioxx and Pfizer Inc.'s Bextra and Celebrex.

Following the Vioxx recall, Pfizer continued to defend both Bextra and Celebrex, claiming the increased risks of heart attacks and strokes among Vioxx users was exclusive to that drug. In October, Pfizer said patients at high risk of heart disease, or undergoing cardiac surgery, were at a higher risk of heart attack when taking Bextra, and in November, Pfizer announced it would likely add a "black box" warning to Bextra labels warning of the potentially fatal skin disease Stevens Johnson syndrome.

Black box warnings are the most severe drug warnings issued by the FDA. In December, the FDA cautioned doctors to seek alternative drugs before prescribing Bextra or Celebrex. As the safety debate continued over COX-2 inhibitors, more safety information revealing the Vioxx heart attack and stroke risks were indicative of a class-wide effect continued to be presented.

The FDA finally concluded that the risks of Bextra outweighed the drug's potential benefits, and the agency asked Pfizer to remove Bextra from the market. Now, in some of the first lawsuits filed against Pfizer since the Bextra recall, a class action suit has been filed on behalf of people who have died or were injured after taking Bextra by a Chicago law firm. Last year, Bextra generated $1.29 billion in sales for Pfizer.

For more information on bextra, please contact us.

 

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