pfizerPfizer Reports Drug Trial Had One Death
Although four patients died in a recent clinical trial for an experimental treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, Pfizer Inc. claims that only one of those deaths was drug-related. The company added that the death rate associated with the drug, across several studies, “is within the range of rates reported for biologic therapies” for rheumatoid arthritis. The experimental drug, tofacitinib, is an oral pill that Pfizer hopes can be an alternative to injectible and infused rheumatoid-arthritis drugs. Two deaths occurred during the …
Pfizer Contributes Assets to Pay Asbestos Claims
Pfizer Inc. will contribute assets to help its bankrupt, nonoperating Quigley unit pay asbestos claims. Quigley, acquired by Pfizer in 1968, made three products for the steel industry from the 1940s to the 1970s that included asbestos. Pfizer still maintains that it never made or sold any Quigley products, but some claimants haven’t released the world’s largest drug manufacturer from alleged “derivative liability.” Included in the assets Pfizer will contribute is a 281,581-square- foot building leased to a brewery. The …
Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline Disclose Fees Paid to Doctors
Pfizer Inc. paid $177 million and GlaxoSmithKline PLC paid $85 million during 2010 to U.S. doctors and medical institutions for their work on clinical trials and other serives, the companies disclosed Thursday. The drug makers have been criticized in the past for using payments to doctors to influence prescribing patterns or promote the unauthorized use of drugs. While other pharmaceutical companies have disclosed payments to doctors, Pfizer is the first to disclose payments for the clinical trials. The disclosure is …
Drug Switch Prompts Pfizer Recall
Pfizer Inc.’s Greenstone LLC unit reported Saturday that two drugs are being recalled because they may have been mislabeled by a third-party manufacturer. Citalofram, a drug used to treat depression, may be labeled as finasteride, intended to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, and vice versa. Only one lot was affected, labeled Citalopram Lot # FI0510058-A. The lot number includes citalopram in 100-count bottles of 10-mg tablets and finasteride in 90-count bottles of 5-mg tablets. Pfizer warned that women who are pregnant …
Pfizer Recalls Painkiller Over Stability Issue
Pfizer Inc. is recalling about 100,000 bottles of popular painkiller Embeda after a routine test showed it didn’t meet stability standards. Levels of one of the ingredients found in the drug were above what was expected. A statement released by Pfizer said that the recalled drug “is unlikely to pose a safety risk to patients using Embeda as prescribed,” and patients can continue taking supplies of the drug they already have. All dosage forms of Embeda extended-release capsules CII are …
Canadian Version of Chantix Anti-Smoking Drug Prompts New Warnings
Canadian health officials have issued stronger warnings to users of the stop-smoking drug Champix about the potential for suicidal thoughts and other serious psychiatric side effects of the drug.
Emphysema and COPD Drug Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Disease
A drug that at one time was commonly used in the treatment of emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other respiratory conditions may dramatically increase the risk of heart disease, United States researchers have found. Ipratropium was sold under the brand names Atrovent and Combivent and made by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. For years, the drug was administered through an inhaler to prevent bronchospasms in patients battling a variety of respiratory diseases. Ipratropium use has largely been replaced by another …
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