Pfizer to pull Celebrex ads
Compliance Monitor, December 22, 2004
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Pfizer Inc. said December 20 it will pull advertising for its arthritis pain reliever Celebrex, whose safety was called into question last week after a study found an increased risk of heart attacks in patients taking high dosages of the drug.
Pfizer spokesman Andy McCormick told the Associated Press the company was suspending Celebrex ads in newspapers, radio, TV, and magazines. He said Pfizer made the decision in talks with the FDA.
McCormick also said Pfizer plans to have its sales staff meet with physicians to explain the findings of the survey, which were made public on Friday. He said Pfizer plans to keep Celebrex on the market.
The FDA said Friday it was considering warning labels for Celebrex or withdrawing the drug from the market.
Celebrex is in the same cox-2 inhibitor drug class as Vioxx, a rival pain reliever that Merck pulled from the market earlier this year after a study found the drug doubled the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Through September 2004, worldwide sales of Celebrex more than doubled from a year earlier to $2.3 billion- 6% of Pfizer's total sales of $37.6 billion during that period.
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