Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Celebrex Warning--(I saw this one coming)

Celebrex Increases Risk of Heart Problems
Friday, December 17, 2004

NEW YORK — Pfizer Inc. (PFE) said Friday it found an increased risk of heart problems with patients taking its painkiller Celebrex, a drug that is in the same class as Merck's Vioxx, which was pulled from the market in September because of safety concerns.

The drug giant said that patients taking Celebrex (search) in a long-term cancer-prevention trial had more than twice the number of fatal or non-fatal heart attacks compared with those taking a placebo.

The New York-based drugmaker said patients in the trial, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (search), are no longer being given the drug -- one of Pfizer's biggest selling medicines -- because of the unfavorable findings.

Shares of Pfizer were down $4.31 to $24.67 in early New York Stock Exchange trading Friday.

Merck & Co. (MRK) pulled Vioxx (search), a rival drug that is also a COX-2 inhibitor, from the market in September because it doubled the risk of heart attack and strokes in patients taking the medication longer than 18 months.

Pfizer said Celebrex was not shown to increase heart risk in a second trial to see if the drug could prevent cancer of the colon.

Wow im glad I stoped taking it.I was wondering if that was going to happen.....

You havent lived until you ride a wave .The best medication of all SURFING.

Even worse news this morning---------------I may not be able to afford to eat my way to a heart attack.




Bitter News From Hershey's: Chocolate Prices Going Up

POSTED: 9:35 am EST December 17, 2004
UPDATED: 9:40 am EST December 17, 2004

HERSHEY, Pa. -- Folger's and Maxwell House have announced price hikes on their ground and roast coffees, and now Hershey Foods is adding sweets to the list.


The maker of everything from the famed Hershey's Kisses to Reese's Pieces said Thursday it is raising wholesale prices to offset higher raw material and other production costs.

The company said the price for its standard chocolate bar will go up 5.8 percent, effective immediately. Higher prices for its packaged chocolates will take effect on Valentine's Day.

Hershey says wholesale prices on its entire domestic product line will rise by about 3 percent. Domestic sales account for about 90 percent of the company's income.

In the report I read it stated that the dosage given the test subjects was up to twice that recommended for Rheumatoid arthritis.

I still want to hear the results of a test where it shows an incresed risk for those taking the AS or RA recommended dose while taking into account other risk factors for heart failure, such as lifestyle, diet, age, etc. Has anyone heard of such a study?

I do notice I have high blood pressure and do not eat as much salt as my wife (who does not have high BP) and we exercise about the same amount. Anyone else have high BP from Celebrex?

Ken.

I've had high BP - don't know if it's from Celebrex but I've never had it before, but now I'm worried - I'm still on Celebrex, should I stop taking it????

Louisa

I am not sure if I am ready to hit the panic button and stop taking the Celebrex.

It's scary, for sure, but I am still not convinced one can conclude the Celebrex at our doses alone is the cause of these heart issues.

It'd be interesting to know if anyone else here at KA who'd been taking Celebrex long term has had any heart issues.

Ken.

This just stinks and I am scared. I take 400mg per day and my dad died of a massive heart attack. I called my rheumy just in case.

I would like to see what the stats really say, too, AccuKen!!

Take care!
Holly


THIS FROM MSNBC~~~~http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6727955/

Pfizer Inc. on Friday said it has found an increased risk of heart problems with patients taking its painkiller Celebrex, a drug that is in the same class as Vioxx. A government-sponsored cancer-prevention trial of Celebrex was halted after patients taking it had more than twice as many heart attacks as patients taking a placebo.

Pfizer announced that it found the increased risk in one of two long-term cancer prevention trials, while the other trial showed no increased risk. The company was conducting the trials as part of an effort to find a new application for the drug.

Pfizer said there were no plans to withdraw Celebrex from the marketplace.

The National Cancer Institute, which was conducting the study for Pfizer, suspended use of the drug after finding that patients taking 400 mg to 800 mg of Celebrex daily had a 2.5 times greater risk of major heart problems than those who were not. A separate cancer study found no increased heart risk with patients taking 400 mg of Celebrex per day.

Celebrex is currently approved for use in the United States for the treatment of arthritis and pain.

Officials at the Food and Drug Administration were not immediately available for comment.

Previous warnings
Earlier this month, the FDA said it was adding a warning to the labels of another Pfizer drug, Bextra, alerting consumers to potential heart problems associated with the use of that drug in people who have recently had heart bypass surgery.

Bextra, Celebrex and Vioxx are all in a class of pain drugs called cox-2 inhibitors. The drugs have become popular because of their effectiveness in treating the pain of arthritis and other painful ailments.

The heart-attack findings for Celebrex come only 10 weeks following Merck & Co.’s recall of its similar arthritis drug, Vioxx, after a study found the drug doubled the incidence of heart attack and stroke among patients taking it to prevent colon polyps that cause cancer.

Vioxx and Celebrex both work by selectively blocking the cox-2 protein that has been linked to inflammation. They were launched in 1999 and quickly became top-selling drugs, helped by massive television and print advertising.

'Does not bode well'
Patients taking the painkiller are advised to contact their doctors.

"In light of this discouraging news, individuals who are taking either Celebrex or Bextra should immediately contact their physician," said Dr. Mark Fendrick of the University of Michigan. "It would be extremely prudent to avoid taking either Celebrex or Bextra until we know for sure about their cardiovascular safety."

So far this year, there were 19.8 million prescriptions filled for Celebrex, 10.9 million for Bextra; and 14 million for Vioxx, according to IMS, a pharmaceutical consulting company.

“This does not bode well for cox-2 inhibitors in general,” said Ira Loss, an analyst at Washington Analysis. “The sense had been that Celebrex is somehow different from the others.”

Hi
I take usually 200mg - sometimes 400mg if I am having a rough time. This article is from smh.com.au. (Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper)


Keep using Celebrex despite warning: AMA
December 18, 2004 - 12:20PM

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Arthritis sufferers have been told not to stop taking the painkiller Celebrex despite the drug's manufacturer finding an increased risk of heart attack in users of the drug.

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer has announced that a US study found patients taking between 400mg and 800mg of the drug daily in long-term cancer prevention trials had a two-and-a-half times greater risk of experiencing major heart problems than those not taking the drug.

Celebrex is part of a class of drugs called cox-2 inhibitors and is popular for its effectiveness in treating the pain of arthritis and other ailments and used by tens of thousands of Australians.

Despite the announcement from Pfizer, Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Bill Glasson urged Australians taking the drug not to panic.

Dr Glasson said most arthritic sufferers would take doses of between 100mg and 200mg of the drug, which was much less than the subjects in the US study.

"We are telling people to talk to their GP and not to go off the drug and reminding people that they will be taking one quarter of the dose that people were taking in this particular study," he said.

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AdvertisementDr Glasson said the study was also based on people suffering from cancer and not a study of the broader population, he said.
Drug company Merck, one of Pfizer's competitors, suffered a major setback when another cox-2 inhibitor, Vioxx, was withdrawn from the market in September.

Merck has been accused of muzzling news of the drug's side effects and is now facing legal liabilities estimated at $24 billion.
Dr Glasson said the Therapeutic Drugs Administration (TGA) was carrying out a review of cox-2 inhibitors.

"We are currently reviewing all the literature and all the studies that have been undertaken into cox-2 inhibitors across the board and the TGA in Australia will [soon] be coming out with a recommendation, both in relation to the class of drugs and individual drugs," he said.

AAP

It was on the news tonight, lead story....wow....

It worries me....what will they discover about biologics?? I'm crossing my fingers...

Peace, hang in there all-

Linc

Linc O'Brien

Linc and JacksMum,

I am truly afraid to keep using it as father died of a massive heart-attack at 69 (two years in March). Everyone that has died in my family, both sides, except my died died of cancer. My mother has high blood pressure and my grandmother, along with cancer had glaucoma. I can not WAIT to talk to me rheumy. In my eyes, I am a prime candidate for heart probs.

I am not so comfortable with the Enbrel, given the MS stuff...can see how it might link in with my use of Celebrex. I took myself off Enbrel about 2 months ago because I was getting sick after injections and had a bad site reaction.

Now, I am clueless as what TO take....glad the rheumy visit is in about three weeks!
Holly