Celebrex Breaking News

Keep up to date with the latest Celebrex news. The following articles are recent breaking news stories involving Celebrex and its dangerous side effects.

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Celebrex Linked to Heart Problems

New research shows the popular pain reliever Celebrex may pose a danger to the heart. Doctors have long prescribed the medicine to prevent colorectal polyps, which can lead to cancer.

In two studies, doctors studied whether the drug would prevent polyps from reappearing after having them removed. Celebrex was successful in preventing the growth of advanced polyps.

Doctors don't know why the connection, though they did note that the doseage seemed to affect its safety. Patients who took it twice a day had elevated blood pressure, those who took it once a day did not.

NSAIDs During First Trimester Linked to Congenital Defects

August 24, 2006 (medpagetoday.com)

Women who take NSAIDs, such as Celebrex, during the first trimester have a greater risk of having babies with congenital anomalies, particularly cardiac septal defects, researchers have reported.

According to a population-based, nested case-control study of 36,387 pregnant women in Quebec province, women who filled NSAID prescriptions early in pregnancy had more than twice the risk for any congenital defect, reported Anick Berard, Ph.D., of Sainte-Justine Hospital, and colleagues, in the September issue of Birth Defects Research Part B.

Of 1,056 women who filled prescriptions for NSAIDS during the first trimester of pregnancy, 8.8% had infants with congenital abnormalities, compared with 7% of 35,331 women who did not use NSAIDs, the investigators said.

Celebrex Almost Doubles Heart Attack Risk: Study

March 1st, 2006 (www.healthfinder.gov)

People who take the painkiller Celebrex are almost twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as people using other treatments to relieve arthritis pain, says a New Zealand Medical Research Institute study released Wednesday.

The study authors reviewed six studies involving 12,780 patients and found that those who took Celebrex had a 1.88-fold increased risk of heart attack compared to patients who took other drugs, the Associated Press reported.

U.S. Asks Pfizer for Celebrex, Bextra Documents

August 15th, 2005 (14wfie.com)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked Pfizer Inc. for information about two of its painkillers, Celebrex and Bextra, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The company wouldn't elaborate, except to say it is cooperating with the request, which was made in the second quarter of this year, the wire service said.

Both drugs belong to a class of painkillers called cox-2 inhibitors, which also includes the Merck and Co. drug Vioxx. Bextra and Vioxx have been withdrawn from U.S. markets after research linked them to higher rates of heart attack and stroke in long-term users.

FDA Gives Celebrex New Warning Label and New Indication

August 3, 2005 (medpagetoday.com)

In a bureaucratic mixed message, the FDA finalized a long-anticipated black box warning for the Celebrex (celecoxib) label on the same day that the agency approved the drug for ankylosing spondylitis, a new indication.

NSAID Painkillers May Raise Urinary Retention Risk

July 11th, 2005 (forbes.com)

Using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) may double the risk of developing acute urinary retention, Dutch researchers report.

The new finding, which involves ibuprofen, naproxen (Aleve) and the cox-2 inhibitor Celebrex, adds to highly publicized cardiovascular issues surrounding the use of these popular medications.

US doctors resume test of drug to fight lung cancer

July 5th, 2005 (alertnet.org)

Researchers who suspended a trial that used controversial pain relievers to try to prevent lung cancer said on Tuesday they were resuming it after studying the risks.

The team at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has restarted a trial studying celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor drug sold by Pfizer Inc. under the brand name Celebrex.

Celebrex prescriptions plunge 40 percent

June 29, 2005 (money.cnn.com)

The health risks surrounding arthritis painkillers have caused physicians to back away from prescribing Celebrex, rather than propping up sales for the sole remaining cox-2 inhibitor on the market, according to an analyst report.

Consumer group urges ban of Celebrex

January 24, 2005 (seattlepi.nwsource.com)

A consumer group urged the Food and Drug Administration on Monday to order the pain killers Celebrex and Bextra off the market.

Vioxx, Celebrex overprescribed?

January 24, 2005 (www.usatoday.com)

Millions of Americans who were prescribed Vioxx or Celebrex in the drugs' first few years on the market could have safely taken older, cheaper painkillers such as ibuprofen, a new study says.

Paracetamol is effective in treating arthritis:

January 24, 2005 (news.newkerala.com)

Three in four patients with osteoarthritis suffered fewer side- effects when treated with paracetamol, which was as effective in reducing pain as Celebrex and Ibuprofen, a study revealed.

Paracetamol holds own against arthritis

January 23, 2005 (theage.com.au)

Three in four osteoarthritis patients suffered fewer side-effects when treated with paracetamol, which was as effective at reducing pain as Celebrex and Ibuprofen, The Australian newspaper reported.

Vioxx And Celebrex Widely Over-Used Before Heart Problems

January 22, 2005 (www.healthtalk.ca)

Vioxx and Celebrex, two popular painkillers in the cox-2 family of arthritis drugs were widely overprescribed to patients who did not need them, long before the recent heart problems associated with taking these drugs were known, according to researchers.

Government finds Celebrex ads misleading

January 13, 2005 (cnn.com)

Advertisements for the arthritis drug Celebrex were misleading and unsubstantiated, overstating the pain reliever's benefits and understating the risks, the government said Wednesday.

Scientist May Up Vioxx Estimates

January 3, 2004 (mercurynews.com)

The Financial Times reports that Food and Drug Administration scientist David Graham has vowed to publish research that suggests up to 139,000 Americans died or have been seriously injured as a result of taking the drug.

FDA Urges Caution with COX-2 Drugs

December 28, 2004 (technewsworld.com)

The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory about the use of NSAIDs, including the COX-2 inhibitors such as Celebrex and Bextra, in light of recent study findings that these drugs can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke when taken for long periods of time or in large doses.

More heart risks found for COX-2 inhibitors

December 27, 2004 (ama-assn.org)

New information on Bextra has placed it under a similar cloud of suspicion.

Correspondence released early by the New England Journal of Medicine strongly cautioned doctors against prescribing Bextra "until there are convincing data supporting its cardiovascular safety."

Banning a drug carrying some risk is not always best prescription

December 27, 2004 (news.yahoo.com)

Three months ago, a study confirmed fears that Vioxx increased the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Now Vioxx is off the market, pulled by its manufacturer, and last Thursday the FDA urged doctors to limit prescriptions for Celebrex and Bextra.

Take drugs off the market

December 27, 2004 (usatoday.com)

Decisions to approve or remove drugs must be based on adequate evidence of both benefits and risks.

For Vioxx, Celebrex and Bextra - the three COX-2 inhibitor pain/arthritis drugs - at approval there was no evidence that they were more effective than older drugs.

No Celebration for Celebrex and Other Pain Relievers

December 27, 2004 (elitetv.com)

Drug manufacturers are in no mood to celebrate this holiday season, as one after another popular painkillers have been cited as being potentially dangerous.

Similarly affected are arthritis sufferers and other with chronic pain who are faced with some tough choices now that many popular pain relievers are being reexamined.

U.S. Urges Limiting Use of Pfizer's Celebrex, Bextra

December 23, 2004 (news.yahoo.com)

U.S. health regulators recommended on Thursday that doctors limit prescribing painkillers like Pfizer Inc.'s Celebrex and Bextra, in light of recent evidence that they may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Pfizer to Cease Celebrex Ads

December 20, 2004 (AP)

Drug maker Pfizer says it will no longer advertise its best-selling arthritis pain reliever Celebrex to consumers.

This, after a study showed high doses of it were associated with an increased heart attack risk.

Pfizer painkiller may triple heart attack risk

December 20, 2004 (newscientist.com)

The popular pain relief drug Celebrex can triple the risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to a study by the US National Cancer Institute

FDA Asks Pfizer to Pull Back Celebrex Marketing

December 19, 2004 (smartmoney.com)

NEW YORK -- At the request of the Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) agreed to limit its promotion of Celebrex, in the wake of a clinical trial that tied the painkiller to an increased rate of cardiovascular problems including heart attacks and strokes.

FDA Statement on the Halting of a Clinical Trial of the Cox-2 Inhibitor Celebrex

December 17, 2004 (fda.gov)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) learned last night from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Pfizer, Inc., that NCI has stopped drug administration in an ongoing clinical trial investigating a new use of Celebrex (celecoxib) to prevent colon polyps because of an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) events in patients taking Celebrex versus those taking a placebo.

Pfizer: Celebrex shows risk in study Drugmaker says painkiller's cardiovascular risk increased in trials among some cancer patients.

December 17, 2004

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Pfizer announced Friday that it had suspended use of its popular Celebrex medicine in a long-term cancer study because patients who used it over an extended time showed an increased cardiovascular risk.

Study finds Celebrex might cause heart ills

Pfizer has no plans to remove drug from market.

December 17, 2004 (columbiatribune.com)

NEW YORK (AP) - Pfizer Inc. said it has found an increased risk of heart attacks with patients taking its top-selling painkiller Celebrex, a drug that is in the same class as Vioxx, but has no plans to remove it from the market

Public Citizen to Call on FDA to Ban Celebrex and Bextra

Statement of Dr. Sidney Wolfe, Director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group

December 17, 2004 (commondreams.org)

Even before today’s announcement by Pfizer about the heart attack risks associated with Celebrex, Public Citizen’s Health Research Group was preparing a petition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban both Celebrex and the other Pfizer COX-2 drug, Bextra.

In February 2001, we testified at an FDA advisory committee hearing that the cardiac risks of Celebrex (and Vioxx) demanded a black box warning for both drugs.

Two months later, in the April 2001 issue of our newsletter Worst Pills, Best Pills News (now online at worstpills.org), we urged patients not to use either drug because there are safer alternatives.

Celebrex Lifts Heart Attack Risk in Trial

Decembr 17 (wireservice.wired.com)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc. on Friday said its popular Celebrex arthritis drug more than doubled the risk of heart attack in a large cancer-prevention trial, a setback that comes just weeks after Merck & Co. recalled its similar Vioxx drug due to heart safety risks.

Drug Risks

December 14, 2004 (washingtonpost.com)

The FDA is planning a meeting in February to discuss safety concerns with that class of drugs, including Pfizer's Celebrex.

Researchers discover new gene in colon cancer-A naturally occurring COX-2 inhibitor

December 14, 2004 (innovations-report.de)

Cancer researchers at the Case Western Reserve University (Case) School of Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland (UHC) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have found a "Celebrex-like" gene that suppresses the growth of colon cancer.

Hub Doctors Issue Warning on Celebrex

December 9, 2004 (Rednova.com)

Two Boston doctors are cautioning physicians to prescribe pain relievers called cox-2 inhibitors such as Celebrex only as a last resort in patients at risk for heart attacks.

Research And Markets: Despite The Withdrawal Of Vioxx - Rofecoxib - From The Market In November 2004, Considerable Activity Continues To Be Reported Relating To The Development Of COX-2 Inhibitors

December 9, 2004 (Pharmalive.com)

The first two COX-2 inhibitors to be approved, Vioxx and Celebrex, are as effective as non-selective NSAIDs in reducing stiffness associated with osteoarthritis as well as pain in a wide range of conditions.

Observations that the incidence of ulcer complications is reduced compared to other NSAIDs are consistent however the pivotal safety trial VIGOR and CLASS have revealed apparent differences between the two drugs.

Higher Risk for Heart Attack With Vioxx Than With Celebrex

Wednesday, December 8 (Ivanhoe Newswire)

A new study reveals a greater risk of heart attack associated with Vioxx (rofecoxib) than with Celebrex (celecoxib), although neither drug shows a statistically significant elevated risk of heart attack relative to people who did not use the drugs.

Celebrex Vs. Vioxx

Tuesday, December 7 (NBC10.com)

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say the arthritis drug Celebrex does not carry the same heart attack risks as the drug Vioxx, even though they're in the same class of drugs.

Pfizer halts Celebrex sales in Turkey

Wednesday, November 24, 2004 (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NEW YORK -- Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday it has temporarily halted sales of its pain reliever Celebrex in Turkey because health authorities there sought to include very restrictive language concerning cardiovascular issues on its label.

Pfizer claims Celebrex anti-inflammatory drug is perfectly safe

Wednesday, December 08, 2004 (Newstarget.com)

Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drugmaker, defended its painkiller Celebrex after a researcher's suggestion the medication may be linked to heart risks sent the stock down as much as 8.3 percent.

Weitz & Luxenberg is no longer accepting Celebrex cases.

see also:

Archived Celebrex News Celebrex - Archived News On the Problem with the Drug
Celebrex Archived News - Are You at Risk from the Problem Drug?

Official Documents Celebrex Public Comment
Official Comments on the Risks and Side Effects of Celebrex

News & Warnings Celebrex: news & warnings all users of the dangerous drug should know
Celebrex Lawsuit Resources: Celebrex Information about News & Warnings