Pfizer has stopped a clinical trial for its blockbuster drug Celebrex because it was shown to cause 2.5 times more heart attacks than did placebos.
Merrill Goozner of the Center for Science in the Public Interest writes: "It is becoming increasingly clear that heart problems associated with everyday painkillers called Cox-2 inhibitors (Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra) are what pharmacologists call a "class effect." Every Cox-2 inhibitor on the market has now been linked to increased risk of heart attacks or strokes. ... It's interesting to note that Pfizer decided to release this information on Friday. In the world of politics, that's the day when savvy politicians release bad news because Saturday's papers get the smallest readership of the week.
But no public relations strategy can rescue the drug industry or its handmaidens in government from the firestorm that is about to break. U.S. consumers have spent billions of dollars for these "super aspirins" in recent years. When they were launched in the late 1990s, it was considered one of the best marketing campaigns ever by industry insiders. Millions of arthritic seniors threw away their
over-the-counter ibuprofen bottles in favor of a $90 per month prescription medicine. ...
In news article after news article touting the new "super aspirins," reporters uncritically passed along the claim that an estimated 16,500 died each year from taking traditional pain pills. Where did they get that number? From a single academic study funded by the companies selling the newer drugs."
Posted by schwitz at December 17, 2004 11:30 AM