Cox-2 drugs do not protect the stomach lining
A new study published in the British Medical Journey will make the FDA and Health Canada look like idiots if they allow Vioxx and Bextra back on the market. Panel constituted by the two agencies had recommended earlier that Vioxx and Bextra should be allowed to resume sales despite causing deaths of as many as 60,000 people. Both Merck and Pfizer face thousands of lawsuits filed against them after Vioxx and Bextra were recalled while a black box warning was added on Celebrex. (Related article: Canadians sue Merck)
The University of Nottingham study found no evidence to back up claims that the new generation of anti-inflammatory drugs (COX-2 inhibitors) are less harmful to the stomach lining than many traditional anti-inflammatory drugs. These drugs were specifically designed to provide pain relief without the serious gastrointestinal side effects associated with the traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These claims were aggressively used by Merck and Pfizer in marketing of their painkillers to arthritis patients.
Evidence of enhanced gastrointestinal safety with any of the new cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors compared with non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is lacking, say the authors. These results suggest that COX-2 inhibitors may not be as safe as originally thought, although a possible confounding effect cannot be ruled out, they conclude.
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