Do I have a Celebrex Case?

New prescriptions for Pfizer Inc. pain reliever Celebrex have fallen by more than half since a government-led study linked the drug to an increased risk of heart and strokes two weeks ago.
January 1, 2005 08:10

Celebrex is a Cox-2 inhibitor, the same class of drugs as Vioxx, the Merck & Co. pain reliever that was withdrawn from the market in September when a study found it doubled patients' risk of heart attacks and strokes. In October, Pfizer announced two studies showed its other Cox-2 inhibitor Bextra increased the risk of cardiovascular problems in coronary bypass operation patients. The trio of events has made doctors suspect about prescribing the class.

Dr. Fred Pescatore, a Manhattan internist, said he curtailed writing prescriptions for Cox-2 inhibitors after the Vioxx withdrawal but has completely stopped since Pfizer's announcement two weeks ago ? unless a patient demands either Bextra or Celebrex. There aren't many of those patients, however.

YAHOO

A class action lawsuit filed Wednesday in Madison County against the maker of the popular arthritis drug Celebrex is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.

...claiming Celebrex can cause serious side effects, including increased risk of heart damage and strokes. ... Celebrex, one of Pfizer's top-selling drugs. ...the Food and Drug Administration has urged limiting the use of Celebrex after a study found ...who have taken Celebrex but have not had any physical injury. ... whether Pfizer is liable for punitive damages. ..."Pfizer negligently marketed Celebrex despite the fact that the risk and the effect thereof on the body were so unreasonably high and severe that no reasonable pharmaceutical company, exercising due care, would have done so." ...issued after the Celebrex study was released, Pfizer ...other studies on Celebrex.

Legal experts have predicted a flood of class actions against makers of arthritis drugs and painkillers, particularly Cox-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx, which Merck and Co. pulled from shelves in September after it was found to cause heart attacks in some patients, and Pfizer's Celebrex and Bextra.

Bextra class actions already have been filed in Madison County.