They will also delve into the safety of older anti-inflammatory medicines such as Aleve and Motrin.
Expect Bayer, which sells Aleve, to run more ads touting the drug's heart-safe status.
There are no numbers yet on whether Aleve sales fell as a result of the FDA warning.
The very critics who warned about Celebrex and Vioxx say the data on Aleve are unconvincing at best.
Now we were over the Atlantic, and for whatever reason, the attendant returned with Aleve, Compazine and Maalox.
WSJ: Marisa Acocella Marchetto on the Flight Attendant From Hell | Traveler's Tale
Naproxen is an older drug sold by Bayer (nyse: BAY - news - people ) as Aleve.
That's not surprising, because Aleve is a small product that has been sold over the counter for about two decades.
But for the meeting to save Pfizer--or to settle the public's fears about Celebrex, Bextra, or Aleve--it needs to be credible.
An example of what can go wrong came in December, when the FDA put out a warning about the painkiller Aleve.
The FDA panel had indicated that naproxen, sold by Bayer as Aleve, probably had the lowest heart risk of the bunch.
The link for Celebrex is less ironclad, and the active ingredient in Aleve may have even less risk for the heart.
On Monday, the FDA turned a halted clinical trial into a very scary warning about Aleve (see: " FDA Statement On Naproxen").
Expect Bayer (nyse: BAY - news - people ), which sells Aleve, to run more ads touting the drug's heart-safe status.
Naproxen, the active ingredient in over-the-counter Aleve, has come out of these trials smelling like a rose as far as heart safety is concerned.
No such wellspring of criticism exists with naproxen, which is marketed by Bayer (nyse: BAY - news - people ) as Aleve.
As reported here on Tuesday morning, there was no reason for a warning, and, in fact, naproxen might well be safe (see: " Some Doubt Risk For Bayer's Aleve").
The study hinted at a slight increase in heart attacks and strokes on Aleve compared to placebo, but the result was statistically weak and ran counter to previous studies about Aleve.
's (nyse: BAY - news - people ) Aleve and Roche 's Naprosyn, saying there was a potential increased risk for heart attack and stroke for patients on the drug.
The published version of the study noted a higher heart attack rate in patients who took Vioxx compared with those who took naproxen, an older painkiller that is sold over the counter as Aleve.
By contrast, shares in Bayer (nyse: BAY - news - people ), which makes Aleve, and Wyeth (nyse: WYE - news - people ), which makes Advil, were basically flat.
The upshot was that the newer drugs, including Celebrex and Bextra from rival Pfizer, did less damage to the stomach than older medicines like naproxen (sold as Aleve), ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) or diclofenac (a Novartis drug called Voltaren).
During the meeting, Steven Nissen , a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who was on the panel, specifically suggested comparing Celebrex to naproxen, the active ingredient in Bayer 's (nyse: BAY - news - people ) Aleve.
The data are murky, and all OTC painkillers may pose some heart risk, although naproxen--the active ingredient in Bayer 's (nyse: BAY - news - people ) Aleve--is at least easier on the heart than these three drugs.
Both Merck and Pfizer also argued that older pain drugs, including such staples as Aleve, Motrin, Advil and diclofenac--which is available as the Novartis (nyse: NVS - news - people ) branded drug Cataflam--might harm the heart just as Vioxx did.
In June, Express Scripts, one of the biggest managers of pharmacy benefits in the U.S., told its clients that Celebrex and Vioxx provide only a narrow benefit over ibuprofen (the branded version is Advil) and naproxen (Aleve), which, as generics, are vastly cheaper (see box).
But just two years later cardiologists warned of a potential problem: Merck's own 8, 000-person study, the same one that showed Vioxx reduced ulcer complications, also found that patients on the drug had more than double the risk of heart problems of those on another painkiller, naproxen (the ingredient in over-the-counter Aleve).
The upshot was that the newer drugs, including Celebrex and Bextra from rival Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ), did less damage to the stomach than older medicines like naproxen (sold as Aleve), ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) or diclofenac (a Novartis (nyse: NVS - news - people ) drug called Voltaren).
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