WASHINGTON, April 7, 2005
Blow To Pfizer, Pain Sufferers
FDA Wants Warnings On Heart Attack, Stroke Risk Drugs Like Bextra
-
Play CBS Video Video Another Painkiller Pulled The FDA ordered a third COX-2 drug pulled from shelves and ordered stricter labels be put on most other painkillers. Sharyl Attkisson reports on what spurred this FDA reaction.
-
Video Bextra Health Warnings The FDA has asked pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to pull the popular painkiller Bextra from the market. The Early Show's Dr. Emily Senay has details on the potential health risks of the drug.
-
(CBS/AP)
-
Quiz Health Myths Quiz What do you REALLY know about about flu shots, arthritic pain, nightcaps, antiperspirants, and healing cuts?
Pfizer Inc. suspended sales of Bextra in the United States and the European Union at the request of the Food and Drug Administration and European regulators. The company said that the FDA, in seeking Bextra's withdrawal, cited a risk of serious skin reactions to Bextra on top of the risks shared by other similar drugs.
The boxed warning recommended for the other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory prescription drugs is the strongest available to the FDA.
"This is not an emergency in the sense that these drugs could be immediately harmful to anyone," said CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Emily Senay.
"However," she added, "it's clear that the FDA feels strongly enough to act that Bextra be taken off the market."
In addition to the prescription drugs, the FDA asked manufacturers of related over-the-counter painkillers such as Advil and Motrin to revise their labels to include information about the risks of cardiovascular incidents and gastrointestinal bleeding.
©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More From Health
Mike Huckabee on GOP "rock stars," 2012, health care reform and more.
