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Bextra, chemically known as valdecoxib, is a prescription medication known as a COX-2 Inhibitor. Like Vioxx and Celebrex, it allegedly reduces the pain of swelling and fever without causing stomach irritation common to aspirin and other NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs). Pharmaceutical company Pfizer released Bextra in 2001, and prescription sales soon totaled 3.2 billion dollars.
Bextra is used to treat a variety of different conditions, including arthritis, menstrual cramps, and other forms of chronic inflammation or low level pain. Pfizer discovered in 2002 that Bextra presented an elevated risk of serious skin irritation during the initial stages of treatment. In addition, during a complicated heart procedure called coronary artery bypass graft, a few patients who had also taken Bextra developed serious heart conditions. Bextra also caused an elevated risk of Steven-Johnsons’s Syndrome, a potentially fatal skin condition resulting in infection and inflammation, and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, which causes infected skin to flake off and die. Furthermore, it was initially believed that Bextra, like its sister drug Celebrex, might pose the same elevated risk of stroke and heart attack, and the Food an Drug Administration ordered more tests to investigate this possibility. Then, in April 2005, the FDA asked Pfizer to remove Bextra from the market because the side effects proved too dangerous for public consumption.
Victims of pharmaceutical shortsightedness have a right to reparations. A knowledgeable attorney is the key to getting you the settlement you deserve. Just as important as your physical recovery, your financial recovery depends on the action you take today. Hesitating one day may prevent you from taking the legal action necessary to recover your losses, so contact a lawyer in your state today.
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