Almost a year
and a half after drug company Pfizer pulled advertisements for its arthritis drug Celebrex over concerns it contributed
to heart attacks, the company has decided to start up again. A new round of print ads are running showing the pain management benefits Celebrex
offers. Those ads, though, also contain very harsh warnings about the potential side effects, including heart attack
and stroke. While critics think Pfizer should remove all advertisements for the drug, as it did for all of 2005 and
2006 to date, the company says the disclaimer and warning on the new ads are adequate to make people aware of the
risks. While Pfizer was holding off on advertising Celebrex sales dropped dramatically. As the article states, that's a strong lesson in how much the pharmaceutical companies are now reliant on direct-to-consumer advertising. Pfizer obviously thinks restarting DTC ads is important enough to risk the ire of critics and potential backlash that could come from the tactic. The company has not yet made a decision whether or not to expand the renewed campaign to television, where it would likely really start to feel the heat.
1. I have had 4 knee surgeries and I used Celebrex for almost 8 years. It did wonders for my health. My insurance company came and said they will no longer pay for Celebrex because cheaper drugs will do the same thing for me. THEY DON'T. For me, the benefits far outway the potential hazards. I wish I could go back on Celebrex.
Posted at 9:09AM on Apr 30th 2006 by David McNabb