Defecetive Drugs: adrugrecall.com
NEWS
Sign up for our newsletter
to receive breaking news about drugs to watch
Contact A Lawyer
Near You
Contact us today for a complimentary consultation with a qualified attorney near you.
Subscribe To Our Syndicated NewsAnother Vioxx and Celebrex Danger
November 16, 2005
According to a recent study presented to the American Heart Association, people who take Celebrex (made by Pfizer) and Vioxx (Merck) are at an increased risk of death if they have survived a previous heart attack, especially if they take Celebrex and Vioxx at higher doses. This clinical study was conducted in Copenhagen and funded by the Danish Heart Foundation and the Danish Pharmaceutical Association. According to Dr. Gunnar Gislason, the lead research of the study, people with heart disease or history of heart attack should NOT use Celebrex, Vioxx, or any similar prescription painkillers.
According to the Danish study, heart disease patients who take more than 25 milligrams of Vioxx daily are five times more likely to die as heart disease patients not taking this COX-2 NSAID. Patients taking 200 mg Celebrex daily are more than four times more likely to die. For many indications, these drugs are recommended at higher daily doses than were studied in this Celebrex and Vioxx heart disease study. At the request of the FDA, the Danish study did not mention Bextra, Pfizer's recently recalled COX-2 NSAID.
Merck's Vioxx was pulled of the market due to cardiovascular concerns in September 2004. Pfizer's Bextra was recalled in April 2005. Pfizer's other COX-2 drug just narrowly escaped recall, though the FDA required label changes to include information about serious Celebrex side effects. Celebrex increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, stomach bleeding, kidney and liver problems, and fluid retention. Celebrex prescription sales have plunged since its total 2004 sales of $3.3 billion.
The Danish COX-2 study is based on the medical records of 58,000 Danish patients who suffered their first heart attack between 1995 and 2002. Patients were treated with Vioxx, Celebrex, and "other NSAIDs" (most likely Bextra) after being released from the hospital. Neither Merck nor Pfizer has responded to the results of the Danish study.
For more information on Celebrex, please contact us to confer with a Celebrex Lawyer and learn your legal rights and options.
More Recent Defective Drug News
