Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex - James Hoyer Newcomer & Smiljanich

We represent patients who died, or who had heart attacks or strokes, after taking Vioxx, Bextra or Celebrex

It’s hard to know what to think these days about painkillers. After years of keeping anti-inflammatory drugs Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex on the market, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has done an about-face. Most recently, on April 7, 2005, FDA asked Pfizer to stop selling Bextra. In September 2004, Merck agreed to withdraw Vioxx from pharmacy shelves. Celebrex is still available, but with a tougher “black box” warning label, and a new safety study.

These drugs all are of a chemical family known as “Cox-2 selective inhibitors,” commonly used to treat arthritis pain. They were touted as being more gentle on the stomach than the previous generation of nonselective, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve).

However, a growing set of medical evidence has examined the possible link between the Cox-2 drugs and heart problems. On September 30, 2004, Merck & Co. announced it was voluntarily withdrawing its anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx from world markets, after a recent study demonstrated an increased risk of heart attack and stroke in patients taking Vioxx. Another study released later in 2004 reached similar conclusions about Bextra, which is also known by its chemical name valdecoxib.

If you or a loved one suffered a heart attack, stroke or death after taking Vioxx for an extended period of time, please fill out the form below for a confidential, no-cost consultation with an attorney.

The study that Merck halted was preceded by several other studies that associated Vioxx with heart attack and stroke. Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Lester M. Crawford said that "although the risk that an individual patient would have a heart attack or stroke related to Vioxx is very small, the study that was halted suggests that, overall, patients taking the drug chronically face twice the risk of a heart attack compared to patients receiving a placebo."

Vioxx is also known by its chemical name, rofecoxib. The FDA approved Vioxx in 1999 for the reduction of pain and inflammation caused by osteoarthritis, as well as for acute pain in adults and for the treatment of menstrual pain. It was the second of a new kind of Cox-2 selective inhibitor approved by FDA. Subsequently, FDA approved Vioxx to treat the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in adults and children. At the time that Vioxx and other Cox-2 selective drugs were approved, it was hoped that they would have a lower risk of gastrointestinal ulcers and bleeding than NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen.

For more information, please review the following documents from the Food and Drug Administration or fill out the form below to contact us. With offices in Tampa and Tallahassee, our firm has extensive experience handling the cases of individuals who suffered serious injury or death due to unsafe pharmaceutical and medical products.

Patients who have been prescribed any of these drugs should contact their physician for guidance regarding discontinuation and alternative therapies.

Vioxx (rofecoxib) Questions and Answers

FDA Public Health Advisory: Safety of Vioxx

FDA Issues Public Health Advisory on Vioxx as its Manufacturer Voluntarily Withdraws the Product

FDA Announces Series of Changes to the Class of Marketed Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)

In the news:

The Tampa Tribune - Tampa Tribune coverage of our Vioxx cases

The New York Times - A Widely Used Arthritis Drug Is Withdrawn

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