MDL Filing Reveals Magnitude of Bextra/Celebrex Litigation

SAN FRANCISCO - A recently proposed case management order filed in the Bextra/Celebrex MDL indicates that more than 1,100 cases are currently pending against Pfizer and other defendants for injuries allegedly linked to the arthritis drugs. In Re: Bextra and Celebrex Marketing Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1699 (N.D. Calif.).

In a proposed pretrial order filed Dec. 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, counsel indicate that about half of the 1,107 product liability actions have been filed in federal court. Of them, 221 involve plaintiffs who ingested Celebrex, while 162 are …