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Article Summary: U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Bextra, along with Vioxx and Celebrex belong to a class of drugs known as cox 2 inhibitors
Kaiser Permanente Bans Bextra From Company Pharmacies
Kaiser Permanente has told its pharmacies to stop dispensing Pfizer Inc.'s arthritis painkiller Bextra, the New York Times reported Saturday.
Officials of the nation's largest managed-care organization told the Times this marks the first time it has banned use of a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Bextra, along with Vioxx and Celebrex, belong to a class of drugs known as cox-2 inhibitors. All three have shown an increased risk of cardiovascular trouble in those who take them. Vioxx was pulled from the market by its maker, Merck & Co., last September. Celebrex, another Pfizer drug, remains on pharmacy shelves.
Kaiser said that its Bextra ban would take effect on Feb. 1 for new prescriptions and March 1 for refill prescriptions.
Dr. Sharon Levine, associate executive director of the company's Northern California unit, said Kaiser physicians had already avoided using Bextra. But "for safety and quality reasons, we don't want to be involved in dispensing this drug," she told the Times.
Pfizer admitted last fall that studies showed Bextra posed an increased risk of heart attack and stroke among patients who have had coronary artery bypass surgery. Many experts have speculated that its risks could be as high as Vioxx's, according to the Times. Kaiser doctors will continue prescribing Celebrex in low doses, company officials said. The ban will take effect on Feb. 1 for new prescriptions and March 1 for refills.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has counseled physicians to limit prescriptions of both Bextra and Celebrex, and the agency has scheduled a three-day hearing of independent experts next month to discuss the benefits and dangers of all three painkillers. That panel is expected to recommend how the medicines should be regulated. If you or anyone you know has taken BEXTRA and has experienced the above symptoms or side effects, contact our BEXTRA lawyer and receive a free case evaluation.
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