What about Celebrex and Bextra?
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It should come as no surprise that other selective COX-2 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's) are now coming under greater scrutiny by the medical community… as well as lawyers looking for another potential lucrative contingency-fee class-action lawsuit.
Evidence is emerging that several other anti-inflammatory drugs also may be associated with cardiovascular risk (heart attacks and stroke), including Bextra and Celebrex, both of which are widely prescribed.
Two studies of Bextra in the high-risk Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery setting have been undertaken where patients received up to 8 times the typical dose of Bextra after surgery. Patients in these studies exhibited higher rates of serious cardiovascular events (heart attacks etc.) as compared to patients receiving a placebo. However, a study examining the use of Bextra after general surgery found no apparent difference in the rate of serious cardiovascular events for people taking Bextra. Another 10 studies involving 7,900 arthritis patients have reportedly confirmed the same, including one study that lasted up to 52 weeks. However, it is important to note that according to Merck, no significant statistically relevant effects were noticed in Vioxx patients until about 18 months… The maker of Bextra now recommends that it not be used immediately after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery.
Most recently, drug-maker, Pfizer, said that it received new information about the cardiovascular safety of its COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex (celecoxib) based on an analysis of two long-term cancer trials. As reported to Pfizer by the Data Safety and Monitoring Board, one of two cancer studies involving the Celebrex, known as the APC cancer trial, demonstrated an increased cardiovascular risk over placebo. The results prompted Pfizer to discontinue actively "advertising" the drug to consumers, however, it did not withdraw the drug from the market pending further studies.
Lawyers' minds are already made up. Given these early studies, they feel that there is a significant likelihood that all drugs in the same class as Vioxx will ultimately be shown to cause heart attacks and strokes. Celebrex lawyers and Bextra lawyers and lawsuits will almost certainly be on the horizon. In any event, we can be sure that news patients, the FDA, major drug companies, and of course the lawyers, are all eagerly awaiting the results of additional studies and research to conclusively and accurately access the true risks of these drugs.