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Bextra and Celebrex Settlement

Seeger Weiss played a major role in securing $894 million in settlements for people who took arthritis medications Bextra or Celebrex and experienced heart complications. Drug injuries caused by the medications also resulted in withdrawal of Bextra from the market and prompted the FDA to require serious “black box warnings” regarding cardiovascular risk on Celebrex.

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$894 Million Dangerous Drug Settlement

In 2008, Pfizer announced plans to pay $894 million to settle claims over drug injuries caused by its arthritis medications, Bextra and Celebrex. The settlement included $745 million for personal injury claims, $60 million to settle improper marketing claims with several states and $89 million to settle class action lawsuits for consumer fraud related to promotional materials.

In September 2009, Pfizer also agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle a U.S. Department of Justice investigation regarding the marketing of Bextra and other Pfizer drugs. Additionally, in 2016, Pfizer announced a settlement of $486 million for shareholders who claimed that the company had concealed the risks of Bextra, resulting in financial losses for its stock.

Due to the high rate of drug injuries, Bextra was withdrawn from the market only a few months after its approval and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring “black box warnings” on Celebrex due to a risk of cardiac events.