Bextra - Drug HistoryWritten by T.Going
Bextra was created in late 1990s by G.D Searle & Co. division of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals for handling of arthritis, inflammation, and painful menstrual cramping without risk of severe stomach irritation. Clinical tests of arthritis patients over six months showed relative safety of Bextra, and it was approved by FDA on November 16, 2001. Bextra became one of best selling drugs on market, with sales in tens of billions of dollars. Doctors were happy with low percentage of stomach irritation, and patients were pleased with boost in quality of life that these alleged “wonder drugs” provided. Then on October 15, 2004, FDA warned of harmful complications in patients who took Bextra directly after having heart surgery. Later, in November of that year, American Heart Association released results of its own clinical test, showing that Bextra had heightened risk of heart attack and strokes. A prominent FDA reviewer proclaimed that Bextra was one of five different drugs listed as “unsafe” to prescribe.
| | Overview of Bextra - FDA Recalled DrugWritten by T.Going
Bextra, also known as valdecoxib, is a prescription medicine known as a COX-2 Inhibitor. Like Vioxx and Celebrex, it supposedly lessen pain of inflammation and fever without causing stomach irritation common to aspirin and other NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs). Pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer released Bextra in 2001, and prescription sales soon rose to 3.2 billion dollars.Bextra is used to take care of an assortment of different conditions, including arthritis, menstrual cramps, and other types of chronic inflammation or low level pain. Pfizer discovered in 2002 that Bextra offered an elevated risk of serious skin irritation during beginning stages of treatment. Also, during a complicated heart procedure called coronary artery bypass graft, certain patients who had also taken Bextra developed serious heart problems. Bextra also created a heightened risk
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