Pfizer stays quiet on chance of Champix's 'black box warning' being removed

US Pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is remaining tight-lipped about the prospect of new data on its smoking cessation med Champix (varenicline) potentially leading to the removal of black triangle warnings on the drug’s side effects.

Champix, which is known as Chantix in the USA, carries the strictest warnings issued by the US Food and Drug Administration, as it has been claimed that the drug has serious psychiatric side effects, potentially leading to suicidal behaviour.

However, new data which appears to disprove the claims has been published in a study entitled EAGLES - Evaluating Adverse Events in a Global Smoking Cessation Study. This is the largest ever randomized clinical trial of approved smoking cessation medicines.