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Celebrex ads are back
After a two-year hiatus, Pfizer has resumed direct-to-consumer advertising for Celebrex, the Cox-2 painkiller that came under scrutiny after the withdrawal of Vioxx, its chemical cousin.
Pfizer's ads in a handful of national magazines -- the equivalent of a toe in the water for the world's largest drug company -- represents an attempted comeback, of sorts, for Celebrex.
The new Celebrex print ads fea ture stern warnings about possible cardiovascular risks and potential stomach problems. The drug has the Food and Drug Administration's toughest caution on its label, a so-called black-box warning about heart risks.
Pfizer hopes this year to boost sales of the drug to $2 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2005. The company wants to squeeze revenue from its older product as it launches several new potential blockbusters, such as diabetes treatment Exubera, cancer medicine Sutent and twice-a-day smoking cessation pill Chantix.
Celebrex is the only Cox-2 drug on the market, and has remained for sale since Merck pulled Vioxx in 2004 after it was linked to heart at tacks and strokes. Merck faces about 11,500 lawsuits over Vioxx in federal and state courts.
The heightened concerns about Vioxx figured, in part, in Pfizer withdrawing another Cox-2 drug, Bextra, after it was linked with a rare skin disorder.
Still, Wall Street analysts say Vioxx and Bextra cast a long shadow over Celebrex.
"There has been considerable discussion about the cardiovascular safety profile of Cox-2 inhibitors in the medical community," SunTrust's Robert Hazlett said in a research report last month. The removal of Vioxx and Bextra "creates additional potential risks to Pfizer and Celebrex" because they're all in the same drug class, he wrote.
-- George E. Jordan
© 2006 The Star Ledger
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
Celebrex ads are back
After a two-year hiatus, Pfizer has resumed direct-to-consumer advertising for Celebrex, the Cox-2 painkiller that came under scrutiny after the withdrawal of Vioxx, its chemical cousin.
Pfizer's ads in a handful of national magazines -- the equivalent of a toe in the water for the world's largest drug company -- represents an attempted comeback, of sorts, for Celebrex.
The new Celebrex print ads fea ture stern warnings about possible cardiovascular risks and potential stomach problems. The drug has the Food and Drug Administration's toughest caution on its label, a so-called black-box warning about heart risks.
Pfizer hopes this year to boost sales of the drug to $2 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2005. The company wants to squeeze revenue from its older product as it launches several new potential blockbusters, such as diabetes treatment Exubera, cancer medicine Sutent and twice-a-day smoking cessation pill Chantix.
Celebrex is the only Cox-2 drug on the market, and has remained for sale since Merck pulled Vioxx in 2004 after it was linked to heart at tacks and strokes. Merck faces about 11,500 lawsuits over Vioxx in federal and state courts.
The heightened concerns about Vioxx figured, in part, in Pfizer withdrawing another Cox-2 drug, Bextra, after it was linked with a rare skin disorder.
Still, Wall Street analysts say Vioxx and Bextra cast a long shadow over Celebrex.
"There has been considerable discussion about the cardiovascular safety profile of Cox-2 inhibitors in the medical community," SunTrust's Robert Hazlett said in a research report last month. The removal of Vioxx and Bextra "creates additional potential risks to Pfizer and Celebrex" because they're all in the same drug class, he wrote.
-- George E. Jordan
© 2006 The Star Ledger
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 12:39 PM
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