Consumer group Public Citizen renewed calls for the FDA to ban Pfizer from selling its arthritis drug Celebrex after more evidence was brought to light about the drug. A study appearing on the watchdog group’s website which tested Celebrex for use in Alzheimer’s patients found the risk of serious cardiovascular events in these patients to be 3.6 times that of patients taking a placebo.

In 2004 more than 23 million prescriptions were filled for Celebrex&. Public Citizen announced it has filed a petition with the FDA on January 24, 2005, which calls for the FDA to ban both **Celebrex and Bextra, another COX-2 inhibiting drug that has been linked to heart attacks, stroke, and sudden cardiac death, as well as the drugs Prexige (generic name: lumiracoxib) and Arcoxia (generic name: etoricoxib), drugs not yet approved for sale in the U.S. but undergoing current FDA review.

After examining the results of 14 separate studies proving links to heart failure in at-risk patients, Public Citizen stated that all of these drugs exhibit the same cardiovascular dangers as Vioxx and should be immediately recalled in the interest of public safety. Vioxx was recalled on September 29, 2004, due to its links with sudden cardiac deaths and strokes.

Source: Theresa Agovino, “Group finds more signs that Celebrex is risky,” Associated Press, February 1, 2005.