Pfizer announced April 7th a voluntary withdrawal of Bextra from the U.S. market due to safety concerns. Bextra is a prescription cox-2 selective, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2001 for the relief of joint pain from osteoarthritis, for the management of acute pain in adults, and for the treatment of menstrual symptoms. It is also approved for the relief of the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in adults.

All cox-2 inhibitors were placed under strict scrutiny after Merck withdrew its cox-2 inhibitor Vioxx in September 2004. Multiple studies have rendered results that show cox-2 inhibitor drugs are linked to an increase in heart disease and a variety of other serious side effects. An individual study on Bextra linked the drug to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, and the FDA created a panel to study Bextra further. That panel concluded Bextra's benefits outweighed the risks, but on April 7th, 2005, the FDA urged Pfizer to take Bextra off the shelves and Pfizer complied under protest.

Further studies are expected to test Bextra's safety, and Pfizer has promised to work to place the drug back on the market. The FDA is sticking with its decision and will continue to work to keep Bextra off the shelves.

The Bextra recall has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of Bextra claims against Pfizer. If you think you may have a Bextra claim or have used Bextra in the past and are unsure, call 877- BEXTRA- SUIT to speak with a Bextra attorney.