Pfizer sets aside 894 mln dlrs Bextra, Celebrex settlementsUS pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Pfizer Incorporated (NYSE: PFE) is a major research-based pharmaceutical company, which ranks number two in sales The company is based in New York City. It produces the number-one selling drug Lipitor (atorvastatin, used to lower blood cholesterol); the oral antifungal has agreed to pay 894 million dollars to resolve claims stemming from litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute.When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. over its pain medications Bextra Bextra® Cardiology Bucindolol An investigational nonselective beta-blocker with vasodilating properties in phase III clinical trials for treating CHF, removed from the marketplace. and Celebrex Cel·e·brex A trademark for the drug celecoxib. celecoxib Celebrex Pharmacologic class: Nonsteroidal cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) , the company announced Friday. Pfizer pulled its non-steroidal anti-inflammatory an·ti-in·flam·ma·to·ry or an·ti·in·flam·ma·to·ry adj. Reducing inflammation by acting on body mechanisms. an pain medication Bextra from shelves in 2005 following claims and personal injury cases alleging the medication was the cause of heart attacks, strokes or other injuries. It has also faced personal injury litigation from users of Celebrex who suffered similar health effects. "Pfizer stands by the safety and efficacy profile of Celebrex," said Joseph Feczko, chief medical officer for Pfizer in a statement. "We believe that putting these matters substantially behind us should better enable physicians to consider Celebrex purely on the strength of its clinical data." Pfizer said the settlements would resolve "more than 90 percent of the known personal injury claims" and the company would seek to claim some of the amount back through insurance. The drug giant, which employs 80,000 people worldwide, also said it would settle legal action by 33 US states over promotional practices for Bextra and other consumer class action fraud cases related to the marketing of Bextra and Cerebrex. 
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