'Public Citizen' Calls for Removal of Celebrex and Bextra

According to the consumer group Public Citizen, a petition has been filed with the FDA calling for the COX-2 drugs Celebrex and Bextra to be removed from the market.

A press release issued by Public Citizen states, “If a drug offers no unique benefit compared to other drugs for treating the same problem (in this case arthritis and pain) but subjects patients to a unique risk, it must be removed from the market.”

Ban the Sale of Celebrex and Bextra

“The Food and Drug Administration should immediately ban the sale of Celebrex and Bextra, which put millions of people, many of them elderly, at risk of heart attack,” said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group. “These drugs are not only more expensive and more dangerous than older, safer pain relievers, they are no better at protecting the gastrointestinal tract.”

"Public Citizen has a long history of identifying unsafe or ineffective drugs. Vioxx, for example, was the ninth prescription drug to be taken off the market in the past seven years that Public Citizen had previously warned consumers not to use. For four of the drugs – Vioxx, Baycol, Rezulin and Serzone – Public Citizen issued warnings more than two years before their removal from the market. Public Citizen warned patients not to use Celebrex three and half years before the government announced that a study showed increased heart risks."

Complete Press Release:Public Citizen Petitions FDA to Take Celebrex and Bextra Off the Market

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