Pfizer: $900M To Settle Bextra & Celebrex Suits
32 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // October 17th, 2008 // 8:32 am
The drugmaker reached agreements in principle to resolve “substantially all” of the personal injury cases, consumer fraud cases and state attorneys general claims involving its two Cox-2 inhibitor painkillers. Bextra, you may recall, was withdrawn three years ago, while Celebrex remains available.
Here’s the breakdown: $745 million applicable to personal injury claims, $60 million for state attorneys general settlements and $89 million to resolve consumer fraud class action claims. Total: $894 million.
Pfizer maintains the deals will tackle more than 90 percent of the known personal injury claims alleging the painkillers caused a heart attack, stroke or other injury. The settlement also covers third-party payor class action consumer fraud cases in which plaintiffs alleged economic loss related to the promotion of the meds. The drugmaker adds this is supposed to resolve cases on a nationwide basis.
Finally, the deal covers claims brought by 33 states and the District of Columbia, primarily relating to alleged Bextra promotional practices. Under these settlements, Pfizer will adopt compliance measures that complement policies and procedures previously established by the drugmaker, without specifying what those are exactly.
In explaining its decision, Pfizer argues the deal 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. 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.”
“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,” Amy Schulman, senior vice president and general counsel of Pfizer, says in a statement. “Inevitably, litigation can be distracting and putting these matters behind us helps our shareholders and, most importantly, patients and doctors.”
Michael
Wow. And all with zero hard evidence that either Celebrex or Bextra cause more heart attacks than Naproxen or Ibuprofen. At least with Vioxx, we had evidence (and a lot of it).
Also, just think . . . that $900 million . . . that’s the equivalent of a new drug. Congratulations, plaintiffs.
Anonymous
All I can say is, stay tuned re: Celebrex.
STILL HERE
Michael,
NSAID cox2…Bextra and Vioxx…no difference…
same medicine…different manufacturers..
nothing to prove..
BP MD
Pfizer - now paying even more for Pharmacia. First it was the HGH fines, now the Celebrex fines. They should never have purchased Pharmacia from Fred Hassan, Carrie Cox and company. It seems that they left behind a lot of potholes!
Wyatt Buchanan
I am one of the plaintiff’s burned over most of my body by Bextra who has SJS and who has had to fight this huge corporate money making machine for the last 4 years.
So until you suffered this or lost someone form it, STFU you ignoramuses.
Anne
I’m with Wyatt, with a child dead from Zyprexa and a laughable mass tort case I had to go through - and a pitiable little to show for it.
Phrma will continue to put lethal crap on the market, hide the evidence, pitch it for off label use, and get away with never having to say they’re sorry, never have to go to prison, as long as the executive branch of the federal government encourages the FDA to be the enabler.
Let’s hope Obama doesn’t follow the path of his predecessor.
To the person who posted worrying about the money, in most instances plaintiffs’ awards are pathetic, and don’t think Phrma doesn’t do a cost-benefit analysis. The cost of the profit from their drugs pays them off much more than they have to pay for people killed and maimed.
Zero morality or ethics in Phrma.
Michael
Wyatt,
You, sir, have an actual claim. The settlement was largely focused on heart attacks (as were my comments, mind you). Pfizer promoted Bextra, guns blazing, for people regardless of allergic reactions to sulfonamides. It was tested (limited patient populations) and was demonstrated as safe as placebo. The problem bextra had was that the increased risk of SJS appeared at the same time that Vioxx was pulled off the market. Pfizer was trying to combat against the Vioxx scare and wasn’t adequately addressing the SJS black box warning. THAT is the reason bextra was pulled from the market.
As for Pharma putting “lethal crap” on the market - keep in mind: DRUGS ARE POISON. They’re poison with side effects we sometimes like. When a company promotes a drug without giving fair warning of the potential for known side effects, we have problems (this was the big problem with Vioxx). BUT - people who experience known side effects . . . well . . . you take a risk whenever you pop a pill. The risk may be small, but it’s real.
Kirby
Here’s the big problem.
For many years physicians depended on the pharmaceutical detail rep to give the good, the bad and the ugly of their drugs. You had mostly pharmacists as detail reps and the docs respected them greatly.
This all changed, particularly in the mid nineties. Detail Reps became sales people, pitching their products for unindicated uses to drive up sales and not disclosing the side effects and warnings of their drugs during their presentations. (I also have to put some blame on the physicians for Not looking at studies and package inserts) Thank goodness for competitors though who are usually the watch dogs of other products.
Personally, I think this is one of the world’s greediest industries.
judy
After suffering a heart attack after using celebrex and having 2 open heart surgeries from the effects THANK GOD .I still owe $100,000.00 and thats after 5 years of paying 100.00 a month to dr. and hosp and rehab .My bills totaled over 1/4 of amillion dollars .Praise the lord.
RPh
I once worked for several large Pharma companies and was restricted in my presentation of a particular drug by my professional standing…to provide both the cons as well as pros…then beauty became more ‘effective’ than professionalism, ergo many young ‘things’ were hired to capture the Doctors attention more than his judgement. The same virus entered the board rooms of the companies, once started by ethical individuals who actually cared about their ill customers. not any more..it now is a battle for ‘market share’ sacrificing any illusion of patient benefit. I now am a vioxx litigant having suffered an MI after my long term dose was increased to 50 mg from 25mg. The charade we litigants all experienced is a TRAVESTY of the American Justice system ! These ceo’s should do jail time just as USCI’s president and board members had to do.
Justice in MI
RPh - As someone who has been on the ‘inside,’ how do you understand the way the virus entered the boardroom? Can it be reduced to greed, or do you think of other factors that have contributed to the change in ethical standards you describe? Thank you for your thoughts.
Michael
How did the “virus” enter the boardrooms? One word–competition. In the ’70s and ’80s, there was little, if any, competition in the pharmaceutical industry. The big players all played nicely in the sandbox. There was no need to worry about marketshare. There was plenty of room for everyone to play. Enter the Hatch-Waxman act. Suddenly–almost overnight–product life-cycles were limited to, on average, 14 years. Organic product evolution ceased to exist. Blockbuster drugs became the ultimate goal–and because blockbuster markets were limited, competition increased.
Many say that competition benefits consumers. When it comes down to the ultimate price consumers pay, usually it is. Here, competition was destructive. Because companies are competing so vigorously (for marketshare, product priority, etc), they are spending incredible resources spinning their wheels. Instead of researching new drugs . . . instead of promoting medicine with integrity . . . companies are forced to spend money solely for the purpose of competing. And that is why Merck hid the problems it was seeing with Vioxx . . . with Vytorin. It was a friendly game. No more. It’s as nasty as they get.
Anna
I AM one of the heart attack victims, proud to be receiving a settlement and I say good job attorneys!
Matt
Unmitigated greed at the top of these companies! There are no ethics, little morals and ruthless actions! Up with profits, down with patients! I’ve been inside. It is very disturbing how these companies operate. I’ve now seen it twice at Big Pharma. Tout the good and hide the bad. And if anybody questions the actions because they have ethics, then off with their heads! They are terminated as quickly as possible and the companies make their lives miserable. I’ve seen it happen to a lot of people. It’s a terrible shame that Big Pharma is now home to toxic anarchists, who believe that laws are for everyone else.
Former Pharmacia
Pfizer bought thes problems from Hassan and Cox at Pharmacia. First HGH and now this with Celebrex! How many more skeletons in that closet?
ANTHONY T. DE CARLO
I WOULD LIKE SOME INFORMATION ON JOINING THE
SUIT AGAINST PFIZER ON CELEBEREX AND BEXTRA.
I TOOK THESE MEDS WHEN
I WAS INJURIED IN AUTO ACCIDENT 6/15/2001. I HURT MY KNEE AND BACK WHEN I WAS HIT, I WAS REARENDED IN NJ. I TOOK BEXTRA FOR 2 YRS,
AND CELEBREX. I HAVE HAD 1 HEART ATTCK AND 2 SMALLER HEART ATTACKS. I HAVE EKGS AND PHARMACY RECORDS IN MY CASE LAST EKG WAS 10/21/08 AT WEIL CORNELL HOSP IN NY.
DO TO COMPLACATIONS, I AM DISABILED AND CAN T WORK.
ANTHONY T. DE CARLO
PLEASE ADVISE ME ON ABOVE MESSAGE.ON BEXTRA AND CELEBREX SUIT.E SEND ME INFO AND FORMS THANKS.
ANTHONY T. DE CARLO
39 CAMPBELL DR.
PARLIN NJ 08859
TEL: 732 721 7741
ANTHONY T. DE CARLO
PLEASE ADVISE ME ON HOW TO0 APPLY FOR SUIT
ON BEXTRA AND CELEBREX.
ME
Anthony,
You may be out of luck. Depending on the state where you live, there is a statue of limitations for filing a product liabilty suit.
ie: several states are 2 years from the date of injury.
Contact a local attorney to find out.
Cases being settled now were started back in 2004.
ME
Anthony,
I was right…2 years…read below
New Jersey Statute of Limitations for Civil and Personal Injury Actions:
A statute of limitations is a law which places a time limit on pursuing a legal remedy in relation to wrongful conduct. After the expiration of the statutory period, unless a legal exception applies, the injured person loses the right to file a lawsuit seeking money damages or other relief.
Product Liability: Product liability claims must be commenced within two years from the date of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint, or two years from the date the injury was or reasonably should have been discovered.
ANTHONY T. DE CARLO
I WAS TOLD BECAUSE I WAS UNAWARE OF MY CONDITIONS UNTIL 2007 I COULD PUT IN CLAIM.
SUPPOSE SOMEONE WAS UNAWEAR OF CONDITION
UNTIL SUCH AN OCCURANCE, HE SHOULDN T BE EXCLUDED. I WAS ALSO DIAGNOST WITH A DETERIATING HEART VALVE WHICH WILL PROBABLY WILL REQUIRE
SURGERY.
ANTHONY T. DE CARLO
ANY ANSWER IN SUIT EVEN IF I WAS UNAWARE
OF CONDITION I HAD. AFTER AUTO ACCIDENT IN WHICH I WAS BROADSIDED BY WOMEN ON PHONE RUNNING RED LIGHT. I WAS IN HOSPITAL 3 DAYS BANGED UP.
AN EKG REVEALED I HAVE 3 SILENT STROKES ONE 2003 WHILE I WAS TAKING BESXTRA AND ALSO CELEBREX FOR 1 YEAR. DOES THIS CONSTITUTE
GROUNDS FOR NOT KNOWING I HAD CONDITION DESCRIBED ABOVE,BUT I DIDN T KNOW I HAD THEM TILL I HAD BAD EKG AT HOSPITAL AND ALSO WENT
TO CARDIOLOGIST AT WEIL CORNELL AND HAD EKG CONFIRMED.
ANTHONY T. DE CARLO
ANY ANSWER ON ABOVE BEXTRA SUIT
ANTHONY T. DE CARLO
WHERE CAN I GET FORMS TO FILL OUT ON SUIT AGAINST PFIZER
tim
So I am a litigant of Celbrex here in canada and experienced very overt mishandling of my medical records. We effectivley proved that some doctors tried to cover up evidence that would have weighed heavily against Pfizer. If nothing else it shows that once a victim of the companies they will stop at nothing. I am not sure who posted the october 17th comment of stay tuned about celebrex (ANONYMOUS)but I agree stay tuned. I am going to prove what happened beyond any reasonable doubt!
judy delaine smith
Tim I have the same problem , I started having heart problems about a month after I started taking celebrex ,went back to dr. and wore a heart monitor for 2 days it showed nothing [malfunctioned]since I was only 53 years old and a female all I ever got was your too young to have heart problems [no family history of heart disease either].after many dr. and emergencyroom visits I figured they knew what they were talking about.In dec [the 21st] I went to emergencyroom again my chest hurt and had severe back pain between shoulder blades .Too young for it to be my heart,went home scared to death, knew it was my heart .Finally went to urgent care on jan 21st and the physians aide asked if I would feel better if he did a ekg [I was crying and scared Iknew my heart was not working right]I said yes the results were an OLD mycardial infraction. IM very lucky to be alive today.BUT I KNOW IT WAS THE CELEBREX,
tim
This is a video that i have posted on Youtube outling my futre avenue of attack, my situation is a factual event that started with one doctor taking back a condition he clearly had previously told me was there. That defect is called a Patent Foreman Ovale, after having the test performed a second time the leading cardiologist came up with a hegitive diagnosis. On September 30, 2008 I attended a hospital in Washington state and paid to have the test performed a third time and to no surprise the hole in my heart wall is a very big hole and surley the cause of the occlusion that occured in my femoral artery which in turn cost me part of my foot and my small toe. Also it is known that i have another occlusion in my ulnar artery in my hand, this has cost me the very tip of one finger. My evidence is sound as far as my accusation of an overt attempt to not only cover this finding up but also to destroy the proof. The claim I make at the end is definate and I only choose to wait until after chrismas to avoid any terrible assoction for my children. Any support is grealty appreciated
tim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pykp5zhQJdo
TIM CLAREY
has anyone heard from their attorney on the amount they will get or when they will get anything?i have suffered 4 heart attacks and blood clots in my lungs and with each heart attack suffer more and more damage blood pressure is almost impossible to keep down and heart rate always is very hard to control nothing has really worked on that my lawyer says next year
Johnny Reviere
Please, someone tell me how can you put a figure amount on such things as damage heart valves. I took both [bextra/celebrex], and no one have contacted me in reference to the suit against the company.
Johnny Reviere
Bonita Britt
I have in the past taken bextra but now my doctor has described celebrex which I am taking now.
Can someone please get in contact with me to let me know what this suit is really all about?
Pablo
I sold and took Bextra for arthritis and pain; 4 heart attacks and 1 triple-bypass later, I still have arthritis, pain, an 8-inch scar on my chest, a bum heart plus I’m broke…how ironic!