Pfizer Reveals Study Linking Celebrex to Heart Risks
February 1, 2005 16:42

Sid Wolfe, health research group director at Public Citizen, a Washington-based consumer advocacy group, said he stumbled upon the Celebrex study while looking on the PhRMA website for something else. On Monday, Public Citizen renewed its call for the FDA to immediately ban Celebrex and Pfizer's other controversial painkiller, Bextra.

While the FDA said it will "review the petition carefully," the nation's largest health maintenance organization -- guided by outside studies -- has acted more decisively. Beginning today, 6.2 million Kaiser Permanente members in California no longer will receive new Bextra prescriptions.

Kaiser is urging doctors to avoid prescribing high doses of Celebrex "until information is available to reassure our physicians that the drug is safe," said Dr. David Campen, head of Kaiser's pharmacy operations.

The quiet release of the 1999 Celebrex study comes amid high-profile disclosure of heart problems with such popular painkillers as naproxen, Bextra, Celebrex, and Vioxx. The worries halted clinical trials, led to Vioxx being withdrawn from the market, and raised concerns among arthritis sufferers.

Amid the flurry of activity, European and American regulators are preparing for meetings this month to weigh the risks and benefits of the entire class of so-called cox-2 inhibiting painkillers, including Bextra, Celebrex, and Vioxx.

According to Pfizer's fourth-quarter earnings report, worldwide sales of Celebrex exceeded $3.3 billion in 2004, with $1 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter. Celebrex revenue rose by 24 percent that quarter, after Vioxx was taken off the market and Pfizer heavily advertised Celebrex. Bextra sales reached nearly $1.3 billion last year, with a 57 percent jump in fourth-quarter revenue.

Pfizer faces scores of lawsuits from angry investors and patients alleging harm from Bextra and Celebrex as well as consumer fraud allegations that claim Pfizer's advertising minimized health risks. In December, Pfizer agreed with the FDA's request to stop advertising both products. In addition, the Department of Justice has sought documents from the company and a coalition of attorneys general are scrutinizing Pfizer's marketing of Bextra and Celebrex.

http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2005/mft05020220.htm

Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) ability to maintain that trust appears to be in trouble. The drugmaker has worked hard to burnish its image. An ad campaign touts the firm's good works in advancing medicine. Pfizer also has responded to the needs of uninsured Americans.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050202/NEWS01/502020332/1002/NEWS

Skepticism about prescription drugs abounds these days, after the arthritis wonder drug Vioxx was ripped off shelves in September and questions linger about drugs ranging from children's anti-depressants to cholesterol-lowering medication.

The nation's largest health maintenance organization said Monday that its pharmacies would no longer dispense the Bextra pharmaceutical made by Pfizer Inc. ...

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050202/NEWS01/502020332/1002/NEWS

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/01/30/MNG6TB2TV21.DTL

New studies say that the popular painkiller Bextra, when taken with aspirin, seems to significantly increase a patient's risk of heart attack. Bextra is among several new painkillers that are undergoing intense scrutiny from regulators because the drugs have been implicated in some heart attack cases. Vioxx has been taken off the market, and the license for Celebrex is currently under review. To learn more on this topic, be sure to also read the related article, Arthritis drug Bextra found to promote heart attacks and strokes. http://www.newstarget.com/003832.html

The Toronto law firm of Stevenson & Associates said it sued the Indianapolis drugmaker in Ontario Superior Court, asking for damages of $900 million on behalf of all Canadians who took Zyprexa and became diabetic.

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Guiding a company in the midst of a crisis - Mercka nd Vioxx
February 6, 2005 16:41

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/02/06/guiding_a_company_in_the_midst_of_a_crisis/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Business+News

Merck & Co. Inc. has been in crisis since Sept. 30, when the company pulled its prescription painkiller Vioxx off the market after a study confirmed the drug increased the risk of heart attack and stroke. Merck chief Raymond Gilmartin is grappling with multiple product-liability and shareholder lawsuits. Scheduled to retire in April 2006 under a plan in place before the Vioxx disaster, Gilmartin spoke with Globe reporter Christopher Rowland during a visit to Boston last week.

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