Pfizer suspends sales of Bextra in the UK
US drug giant Pfizer says that it has agreed to voluntarily suspend sales and marketing of its COX-2 inhibitor Bextra (valdecoxib) in the UK, following discussions with the European Medicines Agency and the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
The Agencies' concern over Bextra relates to incidences of suspected serious skin reactions, reports of which are currently under review. However, previous advice on the cardiovascular risk associated with this class of drugs remains unchanged, the MHRA said in a statement.
Commenting on the move, which is in line with action taken in the USA (Marketletters passim), Gordon Duff, chairman of the Committee on Safety of Medicines, stated that it: "reinforces our previous advice that COX-2s should be used after careful consideration of risks and benefits and [at] the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration of time."
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