Posted on 12/17/2004 6:53:45 AM PST by ejdrapes
NEW YORK - Pfizer Inc. says it has found an increased risk of heart problems with patients taking its painkiller Celebrex, a drug that is in the same class as the Vioxx, which was pulled from the market in September because of safety concerns. Pfizer announced Friday that it found the increased risk in one of two long-term cancer prevention trials, while the other trial showed no increased risk. The company was conducting the trials as part of an effort to find a new application for the drug. The news sent the stock of the giant pharmaceutical maker plunging in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites), where its shares were down $4.37, or 15 percent, at $24.61. Celebrex is currently approved for use in the United States for the treatment of arthritis and pain. Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) said it was adding a warning to the labels of another Pfizer drug, Bextra, warning of potential heart problems associated with the use of that drug in people who have recently had heart bypass surgery. Bextra, Celebrex and Vioxx are all in a class of pain drugs called cox-2 inhibitors.The drugs have become popular because of their effectiveness in treating the pain of arthritis and other ailments. Pfizer Finds Heart Risk With Celebrex
More trial lawyer chicanery.
I really liked Vioxx. Arthritic knees and ankles became new again...
My wife was on Vioxx as well. Her joint pain has returned with a vengeance.
I wonder what the government bailout will look like.
The only thing left is naprisin which makes my tummy upset.
For the most paert, it worked really well. I had read about risks associated with it and was skeptical when the orthopedic surgeon prescribed it. He said that the "heart attack" risks occurred mainly in elderly patients, and that the risk could be minimized by simply taking an aspirin with it (apparently, vioxx has a "coagulating" property that is opposite the blood-thinning property of aspirin).
I am sure that the reason Merck pulled the drug was over that property. I had most of a bottle left when the news broke, and I continued to take it until they were gone. Now I have much more back pain, and I'd forgotten how stiff my knees had become. I still have tramdol, which I take for acute pain, but vioxx helped make the use of that medication largely unnecesary.
No--Viagra is a "PDE5 inhibitor." Completely different drugs for different uses. One takes away the wife's headache, and the other puts lead in hubby's pencil. So, they can be used as a package.
Just curious........is Sans Culotte your nickname or your description?
Eric--allow me to recommend ibuprofen ("Advil") generic. If you take 600 mg for joint pain every 6 or so hours--always with a lot of water or milk or food--you should be ok.
Any news on the other study that says there is no cardiovascular risk? The bad news is getting the headlines, but a concurrent study said the opposite.
I've used Advil. It works but nothing like vioxx. Guess I got spoiled.
The Celebrex dosage that caused harm to some in the study was 400 mg and more. The usual arthritic dosage is 100 - 200 mg daily. The drug is helpful at low dosages and it would be a shame if it was withdrawn due to this study.
Almost all drugs have bad effects to a few taking it, it is a trade off for the good effects that most others get. The doctor has to monitor any patient on a drug for good and bad effects.
You might have underdosed. Take 3 x 200 mg pills rather than two. Might make all the difference in the world.
Click on my profile for an explanation of the screen name.
Lately this curse has afflicted my left hand, making the weekend chainsaw and wood stacking duties a little "ify."
I did not want to hear this, but I am glad is high dosage use that may be the problem...I have arthritis, a flaky GI system that got damaged two years ago with prescribed doses of naproxen (high doses) and I can still burn it pretty easy with ibuprofen or naproxen taken too many days in a row...I don't take celebrex constantly, mostly in cold weather where I start to get real problems with my hand and my knees, and celebrex seems to have worked very well...This is the first real study of celebrex that seems to show problems so I am crossing my fingers that it continues to be high dose or a statistical fluke...
My doc was grousing about the whole mess the other day - he took it himself and felt it to be a good drug. Sometimes mild cardiac risks beat the very high gastric risks of the other nonsteroidals.
" Yes! I've always wanted one of those new Gulfstream V's" said the piranha lawyer.
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