• Reuters, Tuesday, April 10, 2007 11:15 AM

Pfizer is on the hot seat after a consumer group accused the pharmaceutical giant of playing down the safety risks of Celebrex in a new spot. The world's biggest drugmaker began running TV ads for Celebrex last week after more than two years. It stopped touting the arthritis drug after Merck rival drug Vioxx was withdrawn from the market.

Both Vioxx and Celebrex are billed as gentler than naproxen and ibuprofen -- both available over the counter -- but the withdrawal of Vioxx and Pfizer's Bextra put the category under a shadow and sales plunged. Now, Public Citizen charges the new Celebrex ad lumps the risks of all drugs in the class together.

"The overall purpose of the ad is to make it appear, contrary to scientific evidence, that the cardiovascular dangers of Celebrex are not greater than" others, says Sidney Wolfe, director of the health group at Public Citizen. Thus, consumers may opt for Celebrex over "equally effective safer alternatives, such as (over-the-counter) naproxen." Pfizer says it will not pull the ad and says it is accurate.

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