Complain about a product or service

Pfizer Pays $894 Million to Settle NSAID Claims

Allegations involve Bextra and Celebrex

October 20, 2008

Related Stories • Pfizer Pays $894 Million to Settle NSAID Claims • Researchers Claim Vioxx Safety Study Was Actually Marketing Plan • First Vioxx Judgment Overturned On Appeal • Merck Agrees to Pay $58 Million to Settle Vioxx Claims • Researchers Claim Merck Cooked Vioxx Data • Common Pain Relievers May Boost Muscle Mass • More Painkillers Can Cause More Pain • Merck Caves, Agrees To $4.85 Billion Vioxx Settlement • New York Sues Vioxx Maker over Drug’s Risks • Merck Wins Vioxx Case In Illinois • Judge Rules Out Vioxx "Super" Class Action • FDA Critic Blasts Merck's Vioxx Replacement • Merck Loses New Orleans Vioxx Case • Merck Wins Latest Vioxx Suit • Vioxx Study Authors Backtrack On Claim • Older Painkillers May Increase Heart Attack Risk • More about Vioxx --- Other NSAIDs • Bextra • Celebrex • Dangers of Other Vioxx-Type Drugs • Vioxx Alternatives • Aleve Ingredient Seen as Health Risk

Drug maker Pfizer Inc., says it will pay $894 million to settle lawsuits filed over safety concerns over some of its painkiller products. Similar concerns forced rival Merck to withdraw Vioxx in 2004.

At issue are claims involving Pfizer's non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine Bextra, which is similar to Vioxx. It also settles litigation filed in response to Celebrex, another pain killer in the same class that remains on the market.

The settlement resolves substantially all of the personal injury cases, consumer fraud cases and state attorneys general claims, the company said.

"We are pleased by the favorable rulings we have achieved in this litigation and believe that now is the right time to resolve these matters," said Amy W. Schulman, senior vice president and general counsel of Pfizer. "Inevitably, litigation can be distracting and putting these matters behind us helps our shareholders and, most importantly, patients and doctors."

Though claims against Celebrex are among those covered by the settlement, Pfizer said the agreement should in no way diminish the drug's integrity.

"Pfizer stands by the safety and efficacy profile of Celebrex. It is one of the most rigorously- and continuously-studied drugs in the world, as evidenced by its approval and use in 111 countries during the past 10 years across several different pain indications," said Joseph M. Feczko, chief medical officer for Pfizer. "We believe that putting these matters substantially behind us should better enable physicians to consider Celebrex purely on the strength of its clinical data, and its ability to meet the diverse needs of patients in pain."

The announcement follows favorable rulings in which federal and New York state court judges overseeing a majority of the personal injury cases ruled that the plaintiffs' lawyers failed to present reliable scientific evidence to prove Celebrex can cause heart attacks or strokes at its most commonly prescribed dose.

Pfizer said it believes these rulings would have likely limited the scope of these cases had the litigation continued. By settling these matters now, the parties are minimizing the future cost and disruption inevitably associated with litigation.

These rulings within the past year are consistent with the conclusion reached by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2005 that, based on the available data, the benefits of Celebrex outweigh its risks for appropriate patients at approved doses. The FDA requires that all prescription NSAIDs carry the same cardiovascular boxed warnings.

The personal injury settlements will resolve more than 90 percent of the known personal injury claims brought by law firms representing persons who allege that Pfizer's NSAID pain medications were the cause of a heart attack, stroke or other injury. Pfizer said it will work to finalize agreements with each of the law firms with which it has agreements in principle before the end of the year.

Pfizer said it has also has reached an agreement in principle to settle payor class action consumer fraud cases involving Bextra and Celebrex in which plaintiffs allege economic loss relating to the promotion of these medications. The settlement will resolve these cases on a nationwide basis and is subject to approval by the appropriate courts.

In addition, Pfizer has reached agreements in principle to resolve claims brought by 33 states and the District of Columbia, primarily relating to alleged Bextra promotional practices. Under these settlements, Pfizer will make a total payment of $60 million to the states and adopt compliance measures that complement policies and procedures previously established by the company.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |