Pfizer Settles Bulk of Bextra, Celebrex Litigation for $900 Million

NEW YORK - Pfizer announced that it has reached a deal worth nearly $900 million to settle a majority of litigation filed against the company by users of its arthritis drugs Celebrex and Bextra. In Re: Bextra and Celebrex Marketing Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1699 (N.D. Calif.); In Re: New York Bextra/Celebrex Product Liability Litigation, No. 109535/05 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty.).

The announcement was made Oct. 17 by Pfizer, which said the deal was spurred by two favorable court rulings regarding the paucity of scientific evidence proving that Celebrex causes heart attacks and strokes …