CELEBREX INFORMATION


About Pfizer

Pfizer, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, has enjoyed an annual revenue of almost three billion dollars from Celebrex sales in the US since this prescription painkiller was first approved by the FDA in 1999..

Celebrex is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) known as a COX-2 inhibitor. Celebrex is used to relieve pain and swelling (inflammation). Celebrex is used to treat arthritis, acute pain, and menstrual pain and discomfort. Celecoxib is also used to decrease growths found in the intestines (colon polyps) in persons with a family history of this condition. This drug works by blocking the enzyme in your body that makes prostaglandins. Decreasing prostaglandins helps to reduce pain and swelling.

January 13, 2005, the U.S. government found advertisements for the arthritis drug Celebrex were misleading and unsubstantiated, overstating the pain reliever's benefits and understating the risks, the government said. The Food and Drug Administration asked for an immediate halt to all ads for Celebrex, which Pfizer Inc. did last month in advance of the agency's letter. A study in December found high doses of Celebrex were associated with an increased risk of heart attack.

Since mid December 2004, the Food and Drug Administration has urged limiting the use of Celebrex after a study found it may cause an increased risk of heart attacks when used in high doses. Pfizer has pulled its ads for the pain reliever


CELECREX SIDE EFFECTS

The most common side effects of Celebrex are nausea, diarrhea, heartburn and still include upset stomach and stomach pain.. In rare cases, Celebrex may cause stomach ulcers or stomach bleeding. Using the lowest effective dose for only as long as you have pain may lower your risk of these side effects.

February 17, 2005, the FDA said Pfizer Inc.'s pain drug Celebrex has a "probable increased risk" of heart attacks in higher doses but "no apparent effect" in 200 milligram doses or less, a veteran Food and Drug Administration scientist said Thursday in a written presentation. David Graham, associate director for science and medicine at the agency's Office of Drug Safety, said preliminary data from an unpublished study also showed Pfizer's (Research) other pain reliever, Bextra, did not show a heart attack risk in doses of 20 milligrams or less


CELEBREX CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

A class action lawsuit filed in Madison County against the maker of the popular arthritis drug Celebrex is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. Granite City resident , filed the suit against Pfizer Inc., claiming Celebrex can cause serious side effects, including increased risk of heart damage and strokes. The class action is believed to be the first filed in the United States involving Celebrex, one of Pfizer's top-selling drugs. The suit asks that the class members receive money for periodic medical examinations to enable early detection and treatment of any injury or disease and "such other and further relief as the nature of the case may require or as may be determined to be just, equitable and proper by this court." The lawsuit also states that a question for the court is whether Pfizer is liable for punitive damages. The suit alleges: "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. Late in 2004, a Canadian law firm filed a $1.2 billion class action against Pfizer for its marketing of Celebrex in Canada


CELEBREX RECALL

In a report that was issued on December 17, 2004, Pfizer stated that they have no plans to issue a Celebrex recall despite medical evidence showing that patients who take this prescription painkiller are at an increased risk of suffering serious cardiovascular side effects. Recent medical evidence regarding Celebrex closely resembles of the findings of Vioxx drug trials.

Consumer advocacy groups, are calling for a Celebrex recall because studies indicate that taking Celebrex might be even more injurious to cardiovascular health that Vioxx use. A study conducted by the National Cancer Institute was originally designed to test the effects of Celebrex in treatment of cancer. This clinical trial was cut short after preliminary findings showed that patients taking between 400 and 800 milligrams of Celebrex were two and a half times more likely to suffer from heart attack or cardiovascular stroke than were patients in the control group.


UPDATE

February 18, 2004 immediately after President Bush signed the congressional bill, passed by congress the day before, limiting lawsuits against the drug companys, the FDA announced "Celebrex poses an increased risk for heart problems but should be allowed to remain on the market. " The FDA, On April 7, 2005, called for a stronger warning on Celebrex labels, the FDA cited increased risk of cardiovascular "events" and gastrointestinal bleeding and said all similar drugs should have label warnings. This warning, was given the same day Bextra was pulled from the market


FINDING A CELEBREX CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT LAWYER

The law firms featured at the top of the page can assist you with filing your claim in the Celebrex Class Action Lawsuit, or in filing a seperate lawsuit, outside the Class Action.