Europe approves new use for Pfizer's Celebrex drug

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Friday that 17 European countries had agreed to extend the approved use of its Celebrex drug to include symptomatic relief of ankylosing spondylitis in adults.

The decision makes Celebrex the first so-called COX-2 inhibitor to be approved for the disease, a form of arthritis that affects the spine.