Pfizer quickly disputed reports from Canadian health officials this
week linking Celebrex to the deaths of 14 people.The officials reportedly have documents listing more than 100 adverse-reaction reports by patients taking Celebrex over the past five years, including 19 cases of heart attack, cardiac arrest or heart failure and five strokes, Canada’s National Post newspaper reported.
“Voluntary spontaneous event reporting to health authorities is not
designed and cannot be used to determine cause and effect,” Pfizer
said in a statement, noting that millions of patients have safely used
Celebrex since it was approved in 1998. Pfizer also noted that Health
Canada reported “there hasn’t been a causal link established” between the adverse events and Celebrex. Pfizer is in the midst of promoting Celebrex as safe alternative to Vioxx, which Merck pulled from the market in September after clinical trial data showed increased risks for heart attacks and stroke.