Pfizer to Halt Advertising of Celebrex to Consumers
December 20, 2004 09:19

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/20/business/20drug.html?th

The suspension of advertising, which is indefinite, includes television, radio, newspaper and magazine ads and other promotions to consumers, a Pfizer spokeswoman, Mariann Caprino, said yesterday. Some magazine ads may appear for a few more weeks because of the long lead time of magazine advertising, she said.

Pfizer appears to have had little choice in deciding to end the advertising campaigns. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it was considering regulatory measures that could include severe label warnings or even requiring that the drug be withdrawn in the United States.

The federal agency agreed with the advertising withdrawal, Ms. Caprino said, adding, "We discussed it with the F.D.A. and we all concurred that it was the appropriate step."

Pfizer maintains that Celebrex has not been shown to be dangerous when taken at the usual dose levels for arthritis patients. The heart risk in the study disclosed on Friday occurred only when patients took Celebrex at two to four times the usual dose for long periods.

In addition, Celebrex had not been linked to heart attacks before Friday, although other studies have shown comparable problems with Bextra, as well as Vioxx, the similar drug that Merck has withdrawn.

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"The insurance, drug, nursing home, H.M.O. and
medical industries want to take away the legal rights
of the patients most seriously injured by medical
malpractice. They try to trivialize as 'pain and
suffering' the so-called noneconomic damages, which
they seek to limit with a one-size-fits-all cap
regardless of the facts of the case or the extent of
the injuries. They don't trust juries to hear the
facts and decide. Economic damages merely reimburse
a person injured through no fault of her own for her out-of-pocket expenses like medical and funeral
expenses and lost wages. Noneconomic damages are the
only compensation a jury may provide for actual
life-altering injuries like blindness, paraplegia,
loss of limbs, loss of fertility, gross disfigurement,
the death of a child or the abuse of a parent in a
nursing home. These are anything but trivial or
frivolous injuries."

Todd Smith, President, Association of Trial Lawyers
of America, The New York Times, 12/20/2004
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