Medical Researchers Report Celebrex Doubles Heart Attack Risk

LONDON - Recent analysis of clinical trials of Pfizer Inc.'s arthritis painkiller Celebrex have shown that the drug more than doubles the risk of heart attack in patients, researchers said in a study published in the March issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Professor Richard Beasley and four other researchers with New Zealand's Medical Research Institute reported that the increased odds of heart attack with Celebrex (celecoxib) are also common to the entire class of COX-2 inhibitor drugs. The study concluded that the present preferential risk/benefit assessment afforded Celebrex over other COX-2 inhibitors by the FDA …