Celebrex Study halted because of more than twice as many heart attacks as placebo

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a study in November 2004 that said VIOXX may have contributed to an additional 27,785 heart attacks or deaths from 1999 to 2003.

A new analysis published online by the British journal The Lancet could help fuel the lawsuits. Swiss researchers led by Peter Juni of the University of Bern pooled results from 29 studies of VIOXX and found that people who took it had more than double the risk of heart attack than those given dummy pills or other painkillers.

Richard Evans, an analyst at Stanford C. Bernstein Research. He estimates Merck’s legal costs could reach $12 billion. Experts estimate that Merck will pay between $100,000 to $300,000 per settlement.

Wyeth took its drugs off the market in 1997 and has paid out $13.6 billion in legal fees and settlements of its $16.6 billion reserve — believed to be the biggest amount ever paid by a pharmaceutical company over a problem drug.

Baycol was withdrawn in 2001 and Bayer has paid out $1.09 billion so far.

Only 6 million individuals took Wyeth’s diet drugs while 20 million Americans took VIOXX. That has led some observers to believe VIOXX’s payout could be larger.

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A government sponsored study (National Cancer Institute) was halted when results showing that patients taking Celebrex had more than twice as many heart attacks as those people in the study who took a placebo.

Celebrex is similar to Vioxx in that they are both Cox-2 inhibitors. These drugs basically work to reduce pain by decreasing inflammation.

Celebrex is a NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) It is prescribed for the relief of symptoms of the following:

- osteoarthritis

- management of acute pain in adults

- relief of rheumatoid arthritis symptoms (adults and children)

If you have taken Celebrex and have had a heart attack, stroke or blood clots, learn more about your options and get answer to your questions.
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