JUNORSEVERAL LOCAL pharmacists said yesterday that a withdrawal of the pain-killing drug, Celebrex, from the market would not significantly affect their sales.
According to them, the drug, expensive and out of the reach of many consumers, was not widely sold.
"It is an expensive drug," said Stafford Haughton, managing director of Haughton's Pharmacy. He said that while the drug comes with a hefty price tag with one tablet selling for as much as $105 and prescriptions requiring that two of the pills should be taken twice per day- it was very effective.
Another pharmacist, who operates a drugstore in Half-Way Tree, St. Andrew, and who opted not to be named, agreed.
"Although it (Celebrex) is a good drug, if it is taken off the market, there are others that work just as well," she said.
She said, given the cost of the product, many customers were unable to purchase their prescribed amounts at once.
INCREASED THE RISK OF HEART ATTACK
On Friday, Pfizer, manufacturers of Celebrex, announced that it had been discovered that the drug could increase the risk of heart attack. The company, however, noted that it would not be pulling the product from the market since all tests did not indicate that Celebrex could be harmful.
And Health Minister John Junor, who is expected to address the issue in detail this week, has said normal procedures would be followed to ensure the safety of pharmaceutical products distributed to the Jamaican public.
Pfizer had reported that the preliminary results from a long-term drug trial on patients taking between 400 milligrams and 800 milligrams of Celebrex saw their chances of a heart attack or stroke jump approximately 2.5 times compared to patients taking another painkiller.
However, a second long-term drug trial found no increased risk of heart attack between those patients taking Celebrex and other painkillers.
Pfizer's announcement comes nearly two months after Vioxx was recalled by Merck & Co. after studies showed that the painkiller substantially increased the risk of heart attacks.
