Pfizer, the makers of Celebrex, a cox-2 inhibitor for people with arthritis, is to fund a $100 million study into the safety of its own drug, Celebrex. The aim of the study is to find out how safe the drug is with arthritis patients who are susceptible to heart attack and stroke.
Dr. Steven Nissen, from the Cleveland Clinic, USA, will lead the study which will involve an estimated 20,000 patients. Dr. Nissen was one of the first critics of cox-2 painkillers. This will be the first large scale trial comparing Cox-2 inhibitors with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in patients who are susceptible to heart attack and stroke.
Dr. Nissen said the study was a big gamble for Pfizer, as the results could show that Celebrex is the best drug, or it could turn out to be the worst.
Last year Merck withdrew its drug, Vioxx, from the market because of indications that some patients had increased risk of heart attacks and/or strokes. Then another drug, Bextra (Pfizer) was also withdrawn for the same reason. Since then patients as well as doctors have been in two minds about cox-2 drugs, having to carefully weigh the benefits with the risks. The results of this trial could help these doctors and patients.
In the USA Celebrex is the only Cox-2 Inhibitors left on the market. Sales worldwide have nearly halved over the last twelve months. Nevertheless, Celebrex still managed to bring in $1.26 billion for Pfizer (worldwide sales) during the first nine months of this year alone.
If Celebrex gets the ?all clear’ as a result of this study, sales should skyrocket as consumer confidence would increase. Business experts say it is a fair bet – spend $100 million to find out whether your sales could turn into many billions.
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today