PFIZER BEXTRA - $2.3 billion settlement. BILLION!
Cox 2 NSAID
COX-2 inhibitors have been purported as the new wonder drug for arthritis, not having the serious gastro-intestinal side effects. It's widely acknowledged that more than 12 000 people per year die in the USA directly from gastric bleeds associated with NSAID drugs. COX-2 wouldn't do that. However, it soon became apparent that COX-2 inhibitors had serious side effects on the cardio-vascular system. VIOXX was immediately withdrawn from the market, for example. PFIZER was allowd to continue marketing BEXTRA IN VERY LIMITED DOSES for conditions such as menstrual cramps and arthritis. In conflict with the FDA regulations, Pfizer promoted BEXTRA using an illegal technique called "off-labeling" for uses and in doses that far exceeded that approved by the FDA. This put patients at risk from MI (heart attack), CVA (stroke) and pulmonary embolism. On 2 September 2009, Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion in criminal fines and civil charges. Pfizer Bextra, the name we now associate with fraud. LabelingThe FDA has now demanded that all NSAID manufacturers must label their products with warnings about "increased risk of cardio-vascular events and well-described, serious, and potentially life-threatening gastro-intestinal bleeding associated with their use."
CHIROPRACTICChiropractors are not in principle against the lawful and sensible use of NSAIDs, but we believe there is now overwhelming evidence that manual methods and exercise have far more benefits with none of the side effects of these dangerous medicines in the treatment of many forms of arthritis.
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