Bextra

Alert: The popular painkiller Bextra (Valdecoxib), used by millions of Americans to relieve symptoms of acute arthritis and painful menstrual cycles, may double the risk of heart deaths, heart attacks and strokes. On April 7, the Food and Drug Administration requested that Pfizer suspend sales of Bextra in the United States due to the increased risks of severe coronary events and the increased risks of Stevens Johnson Syndrome, a potentially fatal skin reaction.

The prescription painkiller Bextra (Valdecoxib) has now been shown to more than double a patient's chance of a severe coronary event such as a heart attack, stroke or some instances, death. This represents a potential risk factor even greater than the painkiller Vioxx, which was removed from the market in September 2004.

Although Bextra's manufacturer Pfizer claimed that Bextra was chemically different than Vioxx and did not present the same heart-related risks, Dr. Garret FitzGerald, a cardiologist and pharmacologist at the University of Pennsylvania, presented data in November proving that patients taking Bextra have a 2.19 times greater risk of experiencing a severe coronary event such as a heart attack, stroke or death. According to Dr. FitzGerald, "The magnitude of the signal with Bextra is even higher than what we saw with Vioxx. This is a time bomb waiting to go off."

Pfizer has also recently warned doctors that Bextra can cause rare but serious skin reactions like Stevens Johnson Syndrome more often than any other drug in its class. These potentially deadly skin reactions occur most often in the first two weeks of Bextra treatment. Bextra now carries a "black box" warning about these skin reaction risks, which is the final warning step before a recall.

If you or a loved one have been injured by Bextra, please call us at 1.800.966.4999 or fill out the form to the right of the page for immediate attention to your case.

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