BIRMINGHAM, AL--(Marketwire - July 1, 2009) - The FDA has mandated a "Black Box Warning" requiring Pfizer Inc., manufacturer of Chantix®, to strengthen warnings about the health risks and dangers associated with using the drug. Chantix® (varenicline) is advertised as an aid to help people quit smoking. The order for a Boxed Warning comes on the heels of reports linking Chantix® to serious injuries and death. FDA officials noted, "These reports included those with a temporal relationship between the use of [Chantix] and suicidal events and the occurrence of suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior in patients with no history of psychiatric disease." In addition to requiring a stronger Boxed Warning, the FDA is requiring Pfizer to "develop patient Medication Guides highlighting the risk of serious neuropsychiatric symptoms." The FDA Advisory also requires new "Black Box" warnings to be included on packages of smoking cessation drug Zyban® (buproprion).

Attorney Kristian Rasmussen of Cory Watson Crowder and DeGaris in Birmingham, Alabama, filed the first lawsuits in the country on behalf of Chantix® victims. According to Rasmussen, "alarming evidence linking Chantix® to many severe injuries and death has continued to mount since Pfizer rushed the dangerous drug onto the market."

Rasmussen says Cory Watson Crowder and DeGaris has received more than 2,900 inquiries from consumers from across the country. Rasmussen said his firm currently represents more than 350 Chantix victims. Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris is recognized nationally for its practice in mass torts litigation of defective medical devices and pharmaceuticals, class actions, multidistrict litigation and complex litigation including business and securities litigation and environmental litigation.