December 17, 2004
Blockbuster arthritis drug Celebrex, similar to the recently recalled drug Vioxx, has shown it causes more than twice as many heart attacks as patients taking a placebo in a government sponsored trial that has now been stopped.
The latest announcement made by Celebrex manufacturer Pfizer Inc. is not good news for the class of drugs called COX-2 inhibitors, whose safety has been questioned ever since the Vioxx recall. Celebrex and Vioxx work by selectively blocking a protein called COX-2 that has been linked to inflammation.
After Celebrex and Vioxx were launched in 1999, both drugs quickly became top-selling drugs with the aid of massive direct-to-consumer advertising campaigns. Pfizer said the National Cancer Institute officials decided to halt the other Celebrex trial that was in progress to test its ability to prevent adenomas after confirming the heart attack risk.
A Pfizer spokesman said the National Cancer Institute would continue to follow patients in the study, though patients will no longer be given Celebrex.
For more information on Celebrex warnings, please contact us to confer with a Celebrex Lawyer and learn your legal rights and options.
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