Is Celebrex Dangerous? Uncle of Michael Jackson Accuser Speaks Out
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us. Glad to have you with us tonight. A pain pill caused a lot of pain today. And tonight, I will take your questions about Celebrex right to the top. The head of Pfizer, the company that makes the pill and is leaving them on the market, is among my guests. Until today, Celebrex has been one of the drug companies' biggest success stories, both medically and financially. But this example of better living through chemistry may have a downside. A new study says that some people on Celebrex may have more than doubled their risk of serious heart problems.</s>ZAHN (voice-over): We've seen the ads. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD) UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: With Celebrex, I will not settle for part- time relief.</s>ZAHN: Millions of you take the pill. Celebrex has been prescribed to 27 million Americans. They go for more than $2 a pop, so Pfizer makes a lot of money from them, sales of nearly $2 billion last year alone. And it's making even more, now that Merck's rival drug Vioxx has been taken off the market. In just October alone, Celebrex rang up $260 million in sales. Both Celebrex and Vioxx are in the same class of drugs, called COX-2 inhibitors. In plain English, they block an enzyme that causes swelling, which causes pain. But there may be a deadly side effect.</s>DR. JOHN ABRAMSON, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: One of the two studies that Pfizer is doing with the drug Celebrex shows that Celebrex doubles the risk of heart attacks. Other studies that Pfizer has done have not shown that.</s>ZAHN: Pfizer sells a similar drug called Bextra. A government panel is set to review the current data on all COX-2 inhibitors early next year. Today's news gave investors a heart attack. Pfizer's stock nosedived more than $3 a share. Today's news also provoked a media frenzy, complete with doctors dispensing free advice.</s>DR. MARIE GRIFFIN, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: I think for people who are at high risk of heart disease, there's more of an immediate -- you know, they need to do something right away.</s>ABRAMSON: We're not sure. We need to be in a wait-and-see mode here.</s>ZAHN: So how do you know if your heart can take the wait?</s>ZAHN: And the CEO of Pfizer, Hank McKinnell, joins us now.</s>HANK MCKINNELL, CEO, PFIZER: Paula, good to be with you.</s>ZAHN: Thank you. So why, even with the evidence you released today, are you keeping Celebrex on the market?</s>MCKINNELL: Well, let's keep the evidence we released today in context. We released the results of two cardiovascular specialists' review of two studies, one that showed in a large-scale, well-controlled study of two to three years continuous treatment at two to four times the recommended dose cardiovascular risk equal to placebo. That was a good study. We also reported the results of a second study with dosing also over two to three years continuous treatment at four to eight times the recommended dose that did show an elevated risk. But that's not consistent with the first study, nor is it consistent with the great body of evidence that we have of the safety and efficacy of Celebrex when it's used as recommended.</s>ZAHN: But the bottom line is that Vioxx was removed from store shelves, and in the same day that happened, your company said -- quote -- in a press release -- "Pfizer is confident in the long-term cardiovascular safety of Celebrex." That was 2 1/2 months ago. Were you not aware of this second study coming out that you've addressed today?</s>MCKINNELL: We learned the results of this special review, which we encouraged with the National Cancer Institute, at 5:00 p.m. last night.</s>ZAHN: So, are you telling me tonight that any patient taking Celebrex should feel 100 percent degree comfort level knowing that the studies are mixed?</s>MCKINNELL: Paula, no medicine is ever 100 percent safe. Any agent powerful enough to do good is also powerful enough to do bad. It's that balance of risks and benefits that the prescribing physician, fully informed -- that's why we release this information as rapidly as we did -- with the patient decides what's in the best interests of the patient.</s>ZAHN: I really want our consumers to understand what they're supposed to think. I know you think that the overwhelming evidence indicates that this drug is safe to take, but here you've got the National Cancer Institute doing a long-term study pointing to an increased risk of cardiovascular problems if you use Celebrex.</s>MCKINNELL: At four to eight times the recommended dose for osteoarthritis and continuous dosing over a two- to three-year period. That's not the way these drugs are used by arthritis patients.</s>ZAHN: Sir, how worried are you about how this might affect your company's bottom line?</s>MCKINNELL: I have no idea what the impact of this will be on the company. I think that will be determined by the decisions of tens of thousands of doctors prescribing the best medicine for their patients.</s>ZAHN: And you understand why they might be queasy about this tonight?</s>MCKINNELL: Well, I'm queasy myself. But, Paula, in addition to being the CEO of Pfizer, I'm also a Celebrex patient. And I'm not changing my medication.</s>ZAHN: Hank McKinnell, we very much appreciate your time tonight. Thanks for joining us.</s>MCKINNELL: Thank you, Paula.</s>ZAHN: And still ahead, I'll talk with a man who says he had a heart attack while he was taking Celebrex. The Food and Drug Administration has issued a written statement about the new research and the Celebrex controversy. Part of it says: "Physicians should consider this evolving information in evaluating the risks and benefits of Celebrex in individual patients. The FDA advises evaluating alternative therapy. At this time, if physicians determine the continued use is appropriate for individual patients, FDA advises the use of the lowest effective dose of Celebrex." There's a lot more ahead, including the extreme lengths drug companies go to, to get your attention.</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I tell you a secret?</s>ZAHN: They seem to know just where it hurts. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do I have to suffer with headaches like this?</s>ZAHN: And they tell you exactly what to do. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talk to your doctor.</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't let acid reflux eat at you.</s>ZAHN: But are all these ads creating a nation of hypochondriacs? And the Michael Jackson case back in court. Could past allegations about sex abuse be used as evidence against him? That and more as PAULA ZAHN NOW continues.