Celebrex Lawsuits
Celebrex
arthritis drug entered the U.S. marketed in January 1999 with record sales
within the first 15 weeks. It did not take long for people to begin to
question the "super aspirin" as reports linking Celebrex to death and
serious side effects began to come in just three months on the market.
Individuals looking for pain relief due to arthritis were suffering death,
gastrointestinal hemorrhages, cardiovascular problems, kidney and liver
damages, and ulcers.
In one year, Celebrex brought in $2.2 billion attributed to the company's
aggressive marketing campaigns. Celebrex advertisements claimed that the
arthritis medication was safer and gentler on the stomach compared to older
NSAIDS. A study performed on Celebrex, called the CLASS study, concluded a
"clinically meaningful" safety advantage of Celebrex over older NSAIDS had
not in fact been established.
The study also failed to show that Celebrex worked any more safely
than NSAIDS regarding ulcer complications. Celebrex manufacturer then began
to make television ads without naming Celebrex to avoid Federal laws
requiring side effects to be stated on the advertisements. Both Celebrex
maker and rival
Vioxx made continuous attempts to have label warnings
removed in order to gain the upper hand on one another.
The tight competition between the two arthritis drugs was highly criticized
for sacrificing patient safety. Most recently, Pharmacia experienced large
profit loss after physicians and insurers have grown tired of the pricey
medication that has not yet proven to be more effective than a standard
painkiller. If you have taken Celebrex arthritis drug and have suffered
adverse side effects because of it, please contact an
attorney.
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