While Pfizer was understandably miffed after it was forced by the US Food and Drug Administration to pull its COX-2 pain reliever Bextra (valdecoxib) from the market last month [[08/04/05]], the company was pleased to learn that the chief beneficiary of the withdrawal has been the New York-based behemoth’s other COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex (celecoxib).

For the week ended May 6, Celebrex captured 34% of Bextra’s prescriptions, according to Verispan, which tracks prescription data and Celebrex’s total prescriptions reached 228,898, 92,674 of which were new Mobic (meloxicam), which is sold by Boehringer Ingelheim and Abbott Laboratories captured 26% of Bextra prescriptions.

The figures represent good news for Pfizer, especially as Celebrex sales seem to be holding up well despite the furore surrounding COX-2 inhibitors. Furthermore, Pfizer recently said it has high hopes that Bextra could return to the market [[11/05/05]].