Bextra banned in Canada
Like the United States, Canada has also formally banned Bextra, the second painkiller to be banned after Vioxx. Celebrex, the other painkiller in the Cox-2 family, is still available, though with a very strong black-box warning. Pfizer, the manufacturer of both Bextra and Celebrex, has disagreed with the regulators and doctors about the dangers of these drugs and has recently launched the PRECISION trial to establish the safety profile of Celebrex.
According to a review by Health Canada (the FDA equivalent in Canada) of the available evidence for other drugs from the Cox-2 group indicates that there is an increased risk of heart attack and stroke when these drugs are used for long-term treatment. Studies also showed that these side-effects can occur when Bextra is used for short-term pain relief following high-risk heart surgery. Bextra is also associated with a risk of rare but severe and potentially fatal skin reactions. While Merck claims that Vioxx is dangerous only when used for at least 18 months, most medical experts believe that Vioxx, like Bextra, can be fatal even if used only for a short period of time.
In a statement, the Agency says that it found that the overall risk versus benefit profile for Bextra does not support the marketing of this drug in Canada under its current conditions of use.
Pfizer is facing thousands of lawsuits over Bextra and Celebrex. Merck is already battling thousands of victims in courts all over the world.
Related article: Merck hid Vioxx deaths to make the drug look safer
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