english.prescrire.org > Spotlight > Archives : 2005 > Celecoxib still on the market: for whose benefit?

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Celecoxib still on the market: for whose benefit?

Patients are still exposed to the dangers of a drug that offers no therapeutic advantage.

Long before they were put on the market, the cox-2 inhibitor group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were trumpeted by the pharmaceutical industry and by the media as "super aspirins", free from the adverse digestive effects (stomach ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding) of other NSAIDs.

And yet, back in 2001, after analysing the clinical data, Prescrire pointed out that the cox-2 inhibitor group were no more effective than other NSAIDs, that they represented only a slight improvement for the digestive system, and that there was a cardiovascular risk associated with some of them.

Subsequent data confirm that there is a cardiovascular risk and show that the digestive benefit is even less than previously thought.

Since rofecoxib was withdrawn in September 2004 at the manufacturer’s initiative, the drugs regulatory agencies have withdrawn valdecoxib (not sold in France) which causes serious adverse cardiovascular and skin effects. The Swiss agency has taken parecoxib off the market for the same reasons.

Celecoxib is still available, with new contra-indications, even though some clinical trials show an increase in the number of deaths, comparable to rofecoxib.

In allowing celecoxib to remain on the market, the drugs regulatory bodies are exposing patients to unjustifiable risks.

©Prescrire July 2005

Source: Celecoxib still on the market: for whose benefit?"Le célécoxib encore sur le marché : au profit de qui ?" Rev Prescrire 2005 ; 25 (263) : 512-513.

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