Celebrex

Celebrex is a popular drug prescribed for acute pain, menstrual cramps, and pain and inflammation reliever for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Being one of a new class of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) it was considered safer than others, but the facts are showing unexpected results.

Unlike older medications, Celebrex does not interfere with a natural enzyme which it exerts a protective effect on the lining of the stomach, but it has been linked to an increased risk of serious cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack, and it has been flagged as a defective drug for the number of side effect injuries that patients can suffer, enough to file a lawsuit against Pfizer.

Pfizer is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies worldwide which introduced Celebrex in the United States during 1999, after approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of acute pain associated with dysmenorrhea. and other menstruation symptoms, as well as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis pain.

Celebrex is nowadays one of the top best selling drugs in America, but also one of the medications for which many individuals have suffered injurious health complications. Actually there is a campaign urging people to file a class action lawsuit against Pfizer, demanding compensation for related medical expenses, pain and suffering.

However, victims of Celebrex also argue loss of their earning potential and income. Considering that there are nearly 27 million patients prescribed with Celebrex, victims can sum into the thousands. Pfizer obtains an estimated annual revenue from Celebrex sales reaching 3-billion dollars every year, despite medicines called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are risky, except aspirin.

Another class action lawsuits can proceed after the Food and Drug Administration requested that Celebrex and other NSAIDs package inserts undergo reviewing to include a warning highlighting their potential risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, it is known the harmful potential of these kind of drugs for serious, and potentially life-threatening include stomach bleeding.

Just in March 2006, New Zealand researchers found Celebrex as the agent increasing the risk of heart attacks in patients, with no difference with similar, less expensive over the counter medications. The previous month, a stroke survivor filed the first lawsuit in America against Pfizer. A 53-year old woman was prescribed with Celebrex for arthritis, and suffered a stroke in February 2005.

Pfizer lawsuit was set for trial in June 2006, in Alabama, where the woman resides. However, it is expected that more people will expose their complaints after being prescribed with this risky medication, considering that cardiovascular diseases cost substantial sums of money for medical attention, if not hospital, and specialized care.

Other victims of Celebrex have not lived long enough to complaint. Another class action lawsuit was filed on December 2005, not for the victim himself, but for the widow of a teacher who suffered a fatal heart attack after being prescribed with Celebrex. Since then, an increasing number of lawsuits have been filed against Pfizer and Merck, which also produces two COX-2 selective non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) similar to Celebrex.