Bextra User Feedback

Bextra User Feedback

The following is feedback from the mother of an actual Bextra user: My daughter, thank God, has not had a stroke or heart attack; just severe intestinal bleeding.  She was given last rights and had 7 blood transfusions. She was also in intensive care for 14 days. Of course her stomach will never be the same. She fell into the one-percent population of those who experienced adverse side effects from Bextra.  If I had to, I would wear a t-shirt saying "beware of Bextra". These drug companies do not do enough testing before releasing drugs like this to the public.  

Bextra Competition

Bextra Competition

Since Bextra was removed from the market by Pfizer (on recommendation of the FDA) in 2005, this section in not applicable.  

How Bextra Should Be Taken When Prescribed

How Bextra Should Be Taken When Prescribed

Since Bextra was removed from the market by Pfizer (on recommendation of the FDA) in 2005, this section in not applicable.  

The Future of Bextra

The Future of Bextra

            As was well reported, the Bextra saga came to an abrupt end, when in April of 2005, the FDA asked the New York-based drug giant Pfizer to take Bextra (which totaled 1.3 billion dollars in 2004 sales) off the market. In July of 2005, the FDA had Pfizer add a "black box," the most severe type of warning, to its Celebrex label. This was strongly advised by the FDA, in order to reflect the risk of heart attacks, strokes and gastrointestinal bleeding (that was associated with use of the drug).  At that particular time, understandably so, analysts weren't so rosy about a market return for Bextra. While the similarly troubled drug Vioxx has a wealth of data associated with it (both! positive and negative), Bextra does not.  Thus, if Bextra is ever going to be re-introduced on the market, Pfizer would have to invest in expensive studies, in order to demonstrate the safety of the drug to regulators.  

Legal Actions Resulting from the Use of Bextra

Legal Actions Resulting from the Use of Bextra

            On April 7, 2005, six months after Pfizer's drug Bextra first came under public scrutiny for reportedly being linked to heart attacks and strokes, the FDA finally pressured Pfizer to recall Bextra (i.e. take the drug off the market).  On January 17, 2005, the American Heart Association published results from a study regarding the use of Bextra.  They found that patients who took Bextra were at a threefold risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Not surprisingly, the results of this study! served to bring further scrutinization of Bextra (as well as the entire class of Cox-2 inhibitor drugs).

In 2006, the FDA revealed its latest policy designed to shield drug companies from legal action brought by consumers.  The FDA issued the following statement: "We think that if your company complies with the FDA processes, if you bring forward the benefits and risks of your drug, and let your information be judged through a process with highly trained scientists, you should not be second-guessed by state courts that don't have the same scientific knowledge." This statement was released by Scott Gottlieb, the FDA's deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs.  I was unable to find any pending class-action lawsuits brought against Pfizer, over their drug known as Bextra.

  

Health Issues Associated with the Use of Bextra

Health Issues Associated with the Use of Bextra

            In 2002, the FDA issued a health warning about Bextra.  This was in wake of the drug being linked to cardiovascular disease.  In 2005, the FDA held hearings on whether or not to pull Bextra from the market.  Later that same year, Pfizer announced the voluntary removal of the drug from the market.  This surprise action was due mainly because of safety concerns, involving the purported increa! sed risk of cardiovascular disease (which by then had widely become associated with the ongoing use of Bextra).   

The Side Effects of Bextra

The Side Effects of Bextra

            The side effects of Bextra can be lethal.  Following two recent studies by Pfizer, it was shown that heart bypass surgery patients taking Bextra had a higher risk of stroke and heart attack.  Recent studies also suggest that Bextra actually increased the risk of stroke and heart attack, when it was administered to very high-risk patients (who had undergone coronary bypass surgery).  Bextra has also been linked to Stevens Johnson Syndrome.  This is a rare inflammatory skin disorder th! at can be life-threatening.  Up to 27 percent of those affected with this disease incur long term eye damage or some form of vision loss.  Finally, up to 15 percent of those that are struck with Stevens Johnson Syndrome succumb to the disease.