NEWS - Kaiser bans painkiller Bextra

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San Francisco Chronicle

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Kaiser bans painkiller Bextra

Kaiser Permanente has banned the distribution of Bextra, a painkiller made

by Pfizer Inc. that is widely prescribed for arthritis and could possibly

increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.

It is the first time the nation's largest HMO has refused to dispense a drug

approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Kaiser started the ban last week in its pharmacies after several specialists

agreed that Bextra should no longer be prescribed and that existing patients

using the drug should use alternatives, officials said.

New prescriptions will stop on Tuesday and refills will end March 1. Kaiser

will not dispense the drug for at least six months or until the FDA or

Pfizer can provide evidence to support its safety.

" The advantages of these blockbuster drugs have been highly questionable, "

said Beverly Hayon, a Kaiser spokeswoman.

Bextra is a COX-2 inhibitor in the same class of drugs as Celebrex and

Vioxx, two other painkillers believed to cause an increased risk of heart

attack. Vioxx was pulled from the market in October.

Kaiser officials said the Bextra ban will affect a small number of patients.

" We have been very conservative in dispensing all COX-2 inhibitors, " Hayon

said.

Millions of people take Bextra for pain from chronic conditions, such as

rheumatoid arthritis.

An FDA arthritis advisory committee will hold public meetings to discuss the

benefits and risks of -2 inhibitors Feb. 16-18 in Washington, D.C.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/01/30/MNG6TB2TV21.DTL

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org