PFIZER FACES ANOTHER CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OVER CELEBREX

Pfizer was hit with another federal securities class action lawsuit for actions related to its painkiller Celebrex, which last month was linked to a federal study that showed the drug might cause adverse cardiovascular side effects.

Filed by Connecticut-based law firm Scott + Scott, the lawsuit alleges that Pfizer violated federal securities laws by issuing false and misleading statements about Celebrex (celecoxib).

The class action suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, comes roughly two weeks after Pfizer acknowledged that an analysis of two long-term cancer trials, including one in which patients took 400- and 800-mg doses of Celebrex daily, revealed patients taking the drug had more than twice the risk of a cardiovascular event compared to those who took a placebo.

The plaintiffs' complaint pointed to previous research touted by Pfizer that found no increased cardiovascular risks in patients taking the drug. The complaint further alleged that Pfizer's recent statements regarding Celebrex caused the firm's stock to plunge, wiping out approximately $25 billion of Pfizer's market value.