Pfizer Wins Daubert Motion in Celebrex Litigation

Pfizer has won a Daubert motion in the Celebrex litigation that may significantly reduce the size of the litigation.  Here's an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal article, Pfizer Legal Win Might Block Some Lawsuits Over Celebrex, by Nathan Koppel and Heather Won Tesoriero:

Pfizer Inc. scored a victory yesterday through a federal ruling that might wipe out some lawsuits alleging that the drug maker's painkiller Celebrex caused heart attacks and strokes.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer of San Francisco ruled that plaintiffs in the litigation haven't presented scientifically reliable evidence that Celebrex caused heart attacks or strokes when taken at a daily dosage of 200 milligrams. That is the most common dosage, according to Pfizer.

Celebrex is the last drug in the COX-2 inhibitor class that is sold in the U.S. Merck & Co.'s Vioxx and Pfizer's other COX-2 painkiller, Bextra, were withdrawn from the market amid safety concerns.

There are more than 3,000 Celebrex plaintiffs, according to the ruling, but it isn't clear how many the ruling will affect. Paul Sizemore, a plaintiffs' attorney with Girardi & Keese in Los Angeles, estimates that about 900 Celebrex cases involve plaintiffs who were prescribed the 200-milligram dose. However, he says, many of the plaintiffs took the drug twice a day.

BGS