11/21/2007 - National Legal News

On Monday, a federal judge ruled to exclude certain experts from testifying on behalf of plaintiffs against the maker of the arthritis drug Celebrex.

The ruling was issued by Judge Charles Breyer, the San Francisco federal judge presiding over a mass tort case against Pfizer, Inc. The 3,000 plaintiffs involved in the case claim that they or their loved ones suffered cardiovascular problems as a result of taking Celebrex.

Pfizer’s arthritis drug Bextra and Merck & Co.’s Vioxx were pulled from shelves due to concerns about an increased risk of cardiovascular problems. Celebrex still remains on the market.

After three days of hearings, Judge Breyer barred plaintiff’s experts from testifying that Celebrex 200mg/d may increase risk of a heart attack or stroke. 200mg/d is the most commonly administered dosage of Celebrex.

The judge felt that the expert testimonies which expressed the dangers of 200mg/day did not meet a sufficient standard of scientific reliability. Pfizer’s move to block testimony that 400mg/day increased cardiovascular risk, however, was rejected.

The exact number of plaintiffs the ruling will exclude from the lawsuit is not known.