FDA Joint Panel to Probe NSAID Safety
A joint panel of FDA advisors will meet next month to discuss the cardiovascular (CV) thromboembolic risks of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The joint meeting of the agency’s Arthritis Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee will is scheduled for Feb. 10-11 at the FDA’s White Oak, Md., campus.
A 2005 meeting of advisors concluded that both COX-2 selective NSAIDs and nonselective NSAIDs held potential risks but no decision was reached as to which held the greater threat.
The February meeting will discuss literature published since, with a specific focus on:
- Whether the data show that naproxen has a lower CV thromboembolic risk compared to other nonselective NSAIDs and what this might mean for physicians;
- Whether the published findings indicate a differential risk for non-naproxen NSAIDs;
- Whether there is likely to be a latency period for increased risk for NSAIDs;
- Whether there should be restrictions or specific warnings for higher-risk patients;
- Whether NSAIDs should remain OTC in light of new findings; and
- Whether the Precision trial should be altered in accordance with recent literature.
Some of the NSAIDs in question are Pfizer’s Bextra (valdecoxib) and Celebrex (celecoxib). — Lena Freund
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