Fate of Celebrex in FDA hands
Whether Celebrex, a pain killer prescribed for arthritis sufferers, remains on pharmacy shelves here will depend on what the US Food and Drug Administration recommends.
The Health Ministry’s Pharmaceutical Services Division is hoping to get an update on the FDA’s stand tomorrow before it decides on a course of action, said its director Datuk Mohd Zin Che Awang.
The withdrawal of a similar drug, Vioxx, in September had been a voluntary move by its maker Merck, and not pulled off the shelves by the FDA, pointed out Mohd Zin. Vioxx had been found to double the risk of patients suffering heart attacks and strokes.
Celebrex is "extensively used" in Malaysia, but being a restricted drug available only on prescription by specialists, the Pharmaceutical Division does not keep statistics on its use, he said. Both Celebrex and Vioxx are a type of drug called cox-2 inhibitors. Pfizer said it found an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes for patients of the drug.
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