Pfizer's 'quit smoking drug' raises heart risks
July 8, 2011
Healthy, middle-aged smokers who take Pfizer's Chantix or Champix, one of the most popular quit-smoking drugs, have a higher risk of suffering heart attacks or other serious heart problems, a study found on Monday.

British and American scientists analysed 14 clinical trials of Champix, sold as Chantix in the United States and known generically as varenicline, and found the likelihood of developing serious heart problems resulting in hospitalisation, disability or death was 72 percent higher in patients taking the drug compared with those taking a placebo.

The researchers said U.S. drug regulators, who have already issued warnings about Chantix's safety in certain patient groups, should take note of their findings.

"Our new research shifts the risk-benefit profile of varenicline," said Sonal Singh of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who led the research and published it in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"People should be concerned. They do not need Chantix to quit and this is another reason to consider avoiding Chantix altogether," he said in a statement. "People want to quit smoking to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, but in this case they are taking a drug that increases the risk for the very problems they are trying to avoid."

Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, said in a statement it disagreed with Singh's interpretation of the data. "The analysis contains several limitations -- most notably that it is based on a small number of events, which raises concerns about the reliability of the authors' conclusions."

Investors had high hopes for Chantix when Pfizer launched it in 2006. But reports of suicidal thoughts and other mental health problems in users led U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials to order a so-called "black box" warning on the drug's label in 2009.

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Posted by Ken at 12:00 AM