What is Celebrex?
The popular arthritis drug, Celebrex, has been prescribed to over 29 million people since it was introduced a decade ago.The prescription painkiller is used by millions of Americans to relieve symptoms of arthritis pain; it is manufactured the drug giant, Pfizer.
Concerns over the safety of Celebrex were raised almost immediately after it was approved for use in the United States. Indeed, after only three months on the market, The Wall Street Journal published an article about ten deaths that had been linked to Celebrex use, of which half were attributed to gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Other causes of death included heart attack, kidney problems, and drug interaction.
Although Celebrex use was never officially charged for these deaths, each of the patients had been taking Celebrex at the time. Moreover, in December 2004, Pfizer publicly announced that patients who are taking Celebrex faced an elevated risk for heart attacks and stroke. The National Cancer Institute designed a study to research the effects of Celebrex on cancer, which was suspended after preliminary evidence showed that clinical trial patients who were taking 400 to 800 milligrams of Celebrex were two and a half times more likely to suffer from heart attack or cardiovascular stroke than patients in the control group. Nevertheless, Pfizer announced they are not considering a Celebrex recall.
If you have been harmed by Celebrex, or are using the medication and have suffered adverse side effects, you should contact a lawyer; you may be eligible to join a number of class action lawsuits pending against Pfizer, even if you have not yet suffered any injuries.