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Celebrex: Bar Associations
Pfizer's Decision To Continue To Sell Celebrex Poses Legal Risks
FDA officials, who also asked Pfizer officials to revise how the company markets Celebrex to physicians, said that it could take other actions related to the medication in the near future. Celebrex is similar to the COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx, which Merck in late September withdrew from the market because of safety concerns.
Most attorneys agree that lawsuits against Merck over Vioxx are "much stronger" than the expected cases against Pfizer over Celebrex, but additional negative information on Celebrex "would translate into a much greater liability problem," the Journal reports. In the event that FDA does not remove Celebrex from the market, Pfizer likely would face limited liability because "a drug still approved for sale on the market makes it much more difficult to prove in a court of law that it is unsafe," the Journal reports.
A Pfizer spokesperson said, "Product liability concerns don't dictate our decision making. Rather, it's the health and well-being of patients along with the guidance that we receive from the FDA that inform our decisions." Joseph Capobianco, a partner with Reisman Peirez & Reisman, said, "From a liability and lawsuit view, my advice would be to pull the drug off the market. That's the safest course." Paul Rheingold, an attorney who plans to file Celebrex lawsuits, said that the decision by Pfizer to suspend DTC ads for Celebrex indicates the company is "admitting something."
Rheingold added, "What are they saying, 'It's only half dangerous'? It's certainly encouraged us to get going on these cases." Paul Argenti, a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, said, "If their strategy is to minimize legal ramifications by keeping the product on the market, that's a short-term gain that will have long-term repercussions," adding that patients "see these drug companies are taking advantage of people with expensive advertising and then trying to rationalize about things that are emotional -- like the sense of danger. Pfizer will be lumped together with Merck" (Wall Street Journal, 12/21).
Celebrex: Lawyer: Monheit Law: Side Effects: Heart Attack: NY Times
Pfizer officials on Sunday said that they have agreed to an FDA request to suspend all direct-to-consumer advertisements for Celebrex but will not remove the medication from the market. FDA acting Commissioner Lester Crawford said that physicians should consider alternatives to Celebrex, a COX-2 inhibitor taken by 27 million patients worldwide since 1998.
Ask Monheit Law, "Do I have a Celebrex Case?"
For more information, contact:
Michael Monheit, Esquire, Monheit Law, PC
