Criticism upset FDA, doctor says

WASHINGTON -- A federal drug safety adviser said yesterday the government rescinded his invitation to participate in a February meeting on the risk of Vioxx and other arthritis drugs because he had publicly expressed doubts about the medications.

An analysis by Dr. Curt Furberg, a professor of public health at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, showed a doubling of risk of heart attack and stroke among heart disease patients taking Bextra. At this week's American Heart Association annual meeting, Furberg was quoted as saying, "Basically, we showed that Bextra is no different than Vioxx, and Pfizer is trying to suppress that information."