Celebrex, a commonly used painkiller and treatment for arthritis, doubles the risk of a heart attack, researchers said on Wednesday.
Professor Richard Beasley, of New Zealand’s Medical Research Institute in Wellington, said analysis of trials of the Pfizer Inc drug, also known as celecoxib, showed the raised odds of a heart attack were common to the entire class of drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors.
Merck & Co Inc pulled its drug Vioxx from the market in 2004 after a study showed it doubled the risk of a stroke or heart attack in people taking it for at least 18 months.
“Our evidence shows an increased risk of heart attack in patients taking celecoxib,” said Beasley.
“Drug regulatory authorities need to urgently re-examine the assessment of the drug in light of these findings,” he added in a statement.
An American woman is suing Pfizer in a court case set to be heard in June in Alabama. She alleges that Celebrex, which she was taking for back pain, caused a stroke she suffered in 2005.
Pfizer, in response to the analysis, said the drug had been studied in more than 40 controlled trials that included more than 44,000 patients including approximately 25,000 who took Celebrex.
“There are more comprehensive meta-analyses on the cardiovascular safety profile of Celebrex which are published in peer-reviewed journals,” a company spokesman said.
COX-2 inhibitors were designed as a safer long-term alternative to older painkillers, known as non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, which can cause stomach damage.
The drugs work by blocking selectively a protein called COX-2 that has been linked to inflammation.
Last year the European Union restricted the use of COX-2 pain relievers saying they should not be given to people with ischaemic heart disease or stroke. It also suggested the lowest dose and shortest course of the drug should be prescribed.
Beasley and his team looked at four trials involving 4,422 patients which compared Celebrex to a placebo. The study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, showed the drug was associated with a 2.26 fold increased risk of a heart attack.
In six other studies, patients taking the drug had a 1.88 fold raised risk of a heart attack compared to patients taking older painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol.
“Given the popularity of celecoxib in the treatment of arthritis, drug regulators must undertake an up-to-date risk assessment based on the findings presented here,” said Beasley.
