There is no data as yet that indicates how many former patients of Pfizer's anti-inflammatory and painkilling drug are filing Celebrex law suits, but given the magnitude of the company's perceived crime it is likely that there will be very many. And even a quick perusal of the alleged behaviour of the company regarding this drug seems to point to Celebrex law suits being something of a fait accompli.
And yet there is no predicting the future where large multimillion dollar companies are concerned, though the numbers of Celebrex law suits expected to be filed will give an enormous power to the people. And this is a power that they deserve; having had self-determination harshly taken from them, when they took a drug that they were promised would only enhance their life.
Pharmaceuticals wield enormous power, not only because of their huge monetary value, but because they have the power to toy with the hopes of the chronically ill. Anyone who has suffered from a long-term condition like arthritis, the condition that Celebrex was largely used to treat, or who has watched a loved one try to cope will understand that the availability of a drug that claims to help will be enthusiastically greeted. We entrust our health to pharmaceutical companies when we take their drugs, and they have a responsibility to protect it. This is a trust that Pfizer have badly lost.
Pfizer announced in December 2004, after a clinical study exploring Celebrex's effects on cancer, that their drug increased more than twofold a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease. But it seems that Pfizer were aware of this link previously, and yet persisted in marketing a product they knew to be unsafe. Unlike the makers of Vioxx, who voluntary withdrew their drug from the market once links between it and increased risk of heart attacks became established, Pfizer have continued to allow Celebrex to be sold, indirectly claiming that their product is safe for use by the general public.
These are the arguments that it seem will end Celebrex law suits positively for the many people whose lives have been changed forever by the drug. It seems that Pfizer knowingly placed their customers at risk, violating the enormous trust between them and the ill. While these people desperately need the financial compensation that these law suits could provide in order to protect their health in the years to come, even if large pharmaceuticals win out in the courts, this will forever remain a moral victory for the former patients of Celebrex.
Dave Hoffman is the founder of Celebrex Attorneys a website providing information on Celebrex law.