| Bextra Lawsuits Filed Against Pfizer in New York
PR Newswire
April 11, 2005
Three Bextra lawsuits were filed against Pfizer Inc. on behalf of three individuals who allegedly were injured by the pain relief drug, Bextra, the Philadelphia law firm Kline & Specter, P.C. announced Monday in a statement.
Two of the plaintiffs suffered heart attacks and one sustained a stroke after taking Bextra, attorneys for the plaintiffs stated.
Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, suspended sales of Bextra in the United States and the European Union on Thursday after the Food and Drug Administration concluded that its overall risk versus benefit profile is "unfavorable."
Bextra belongs to a class of drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors, including Celebrex, another Pfizer drug, and Vioxx, made by Merck & Company. All three painkillers have been amid controversy since September 2004, after Merck pulled Vioxx from the market because it was found to increase a patients' risk of heart attack and stroke after 18 months of use.
But unlike Vioxx, Bextra was taken off the market because of its potential to cause a rare but serious skin reaction, which is already disclosed on its label, Pfizer said.
The Bextra lawsuits, filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on Friday, claim Pfizer failed to adequately and properly test Bextra, and failed to warn doctors, patients and others about its potential risks.
The plaintiffs in the Bextra lawsuits are:
- Luis G. Flores, 33, of Texas, who suffered a heart attack on Aug. 5, 2004 and, as a result, was forced to undergo two stent implantation surgeries.
- Jimmy Kitchen, 67, of Arkansas, who suffered a heart attack on June 12, 2002.
- Theodis Maddox, Jr., 48, of Arkansas, who suffered a stroke and temporary paralysis and weakness on his right side.
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