Bextra Pulled From Market
(HealthDayNews, 4/7/05)

Concern about cardiovascular risks, gastrointestinal risks and potentially fatal skin reactions has prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ask Pfizer to stop selling the painkiller, Bextra. In addition, the FDA has directed that warnings highlighting major risk factors be placed on all similar drugs. As for Celebrex, another cox-2 inhibitor also made by Pfizer, the FDA has decided that its benefits outweigh its risks, but it will carry the high level warning and include the "Medication Guide" now mandated for prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In addition, the FDA has asked the manufacturer to conduct a long-term study, comparing the safety of Celebrex to that of naproxen and other similar medications.