Panel Recommends Keeping Celebrex, Bextra on the Market;
Says Vioxx May Return

WASHINGTON - An FDA advisory panel that assembled last month to weigh the risks and benefits of COX-2 inhibitors recommended that Celebrex and Bextra be allowed to stay on the market and that Vioxx be allowed to return, provided it is accompanied by strict warnings.

The panel, which assembled in Washington on Feb. 16-18, determined that while the COX-2 inhibitors pose serious cardiovascular risks to those who take them, the benefits of the pain drugs necessitate their continued sale in U.S. markets. As of this writing, the FDA had not formally adopted the panel's recommendation, but was expected to …