- Bank of America CEO Search May Extend Into 2010
- 'Cancer of Fraud' Permeates Health Care System: Critics
- US Mint to Suspend American Eagle Gold 1-Ounce Coins
- Judge Erases Couple's $525,000 Mortgage Payment
- For Many in US, It Will Be a Scaled-Down Holiday Season
- Where Do Pardoned Turkeys Go?
- Foreign Demand Boosts US 7-Year Treasury Sale
- Jobless Claims Below 500,000, Durable Orders Slip
- Activision Prepares to Double Dip on ‘Modern Warfare 2’
- Will TCU See The "Flutie Effect?"
- Retail Earnings and Sales to Improve in Q4: Analyst
- Consumers Catching the Holiday Spirit
- It's Beginning To Look A Lot More Riskless
- Crescenzi: Claims Level Suggests End to Job Losses
- Hedge Funds Take Early Lead in Warren Buffett's 'Big Bet'
- S&P Stocks Trading at New 52-Week Highs
- 4 Food Stocks to Stuff in Your Portfolio: Analyst
- S&P at 1050-1200 Trading Range Next Year: Strategist
MOST SHARED
- Ritz-Carlton ?Struggling? in the US: President
- Garlic Price Rises Surpass Gold, Stocks in China
- S&P Stocks Trading at New 52-Week Highs
- New-Home Sales Jump 6.2% To Highest Level in Over Year
- Half of Banks' Losses May Still Be Hidden: IMF Head
- The Executive Job Search
- Consumer Mood Improves, But Anxiety Over Personal Finances
- Salvation Army's Kettles Now Credit Card-Ready
- Activision Prepares to Double Dip on ‘Modern Warfare 2’
- Where Do Pardoned Turkeys Go?
Text Size 
The American Heart Association issued new guidelines for Pfizer's Celebrex, advising doctors the painkiller should only be used as a last resort on patients who have heart disease or a risk of developing it, CNBC's Mike Huckman reported.
Celebrex is a COX-2 inhibitor and it's the only drug in that class still on the market in the U.S. after Merck pulled Vioxx and Pfizer pulled Bextra off pharmacy shelves.
In a prepared statement, Pfizer [PFE
Loading...
()
] told Huckman the AHA's recommendations are "oversimplified" and "not based on robust clinical data … and may further confuse patients."
But the American Heart Association says a recent analysis show that COX-2 drugs increase the risk of having a heart attack by 86%. The drug already has a so-called black box warning label, the FDA's toughest warning of heart risk since 2005.
Dr. Elliott Antman, lead author of the AHA's scientific statement and a professor at Harvard Medical School, makes no bones about Pfizer's Celebrex.
"It is not a safe drug," says Antman. "It is not a drug we should turn to as a first line treatment for management of pain in a patient with heart disease. We're actually recommending that it be the last line of treatment."
Antman said heart disease patients should be instructed to diet and exercise and failing that, to try aspirin first, then Tylenol or Aleve.
The most infamous of the COX-2 class is Vioxx, which was pulled from the market by Merck [MRK
Loading...
()
] in 2004 after it was discovered that the drug raised the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
After Vioxx fears eventually subsided, sales of Celebrex rebounded last year with 2006 sales of $2 billion. Pfizer has said it expects the rebound to continue for the franchise again this year.
Print
Email
- For nearly three decades, these on-call experts have been dishing advice on how to – and not to – cook turkey.
- Eric Schmidt pledges to create a virtual copy of the Iraq National Museum at Google’s expense.
- Bill Griffeth is taking a leave of absence from CNBC and Power Lunch for a year. Here's a message from Bill.
- More shoppers than ever plan to comparison-shop this season. Who will benefit?
- It may be the most unusual guide to business you'll read.
- How can you get out of debt and back on the road to recovery? Follow these ten steps.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes