Celebrex Halted in Clinical Trial

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The National Cancer Institute has stopped the use of the COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex in a clinical trial because of an increased risk for cardiovascular events associated with its use.

Researchers were investigating using Celebrex to prevent colon polyps. But they found patients taking 400 milligrams of Celebrex twice a day had a 3.4-times greater risk for cardiovascular events compared to placebo. Patients taking 200 milligrams of the drug twice daily had a 2.5-times greater risk.

Although data is preliminary, these findings are similar to recent results from a study of the drug Vioxx, which is in the same drug class as Celebrex. Vioxx was withdrawn by Merck on September 30th of this year.

SOURCE: Food and Drug Administration, Dec. 17, 2004