Raptiva Pulled from Canadian Market
Raptiva, a drug used to treat psoriasis, has been pulled from the market in Canada because of its link to a fatal brain infection, The Canadian Press reports.
Canadian health officials suspended marketing of the Raptiva in February. On June 17, Health Canada pulled the drug from the market due to safety concerns.
Raptiva was authorized for use in adult patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, a chronic disease of the immune system that often appears on the skin. Raptiva suppressed T cells in the immune system. Because the immune system is compromised, patients were at risk for infectious diseases.
In February 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration warned that Raptiva was linked to three fatal cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalitis (PML), a deadly type of brain infection. Four months before the announcement, the FDA required Raptiva’s manufacturer to include a black boxed warning.
In April, Genentech, the San Francisco-based maker of Raptiva, announced the drug was being withdrawn from the global market.
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