Injury News

Source: Public Citizen

Citing poor sells, Bristol-Myers Squibb said Wednesday that it will stop selling its controversial antidepressant drug Serzone in the United States as of June 14. But critics blame the drug’s risk of liver failure, which has brought many lawsuits against the company, for the withdrawal.

Public Citizen, a consumer advocate group, said the company’s action is not enough for two reasons: First because Bristol-Myers Squibb is not recalling Serzone.

“The company will be able to fill (or refill) prescriptions for many more months after June 14, because the drug will still be available in channels of commerce including wholesalers and retail pharmacies,” the group said in a prepared statement issued on Wednesday.

Second, because a number generic versions of Serzone are now available.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration must force those companies to remove their drugs from the market,” the group said. “Otherwise, the cases of liver failure, liver transplant and death will continue with the generic versions of” Serzone.

Public Citizen sued the FDA on March 15 over its failure to act on a petition it filed a year ago seeking a ban of Serzone because it had been linked to a mounting number of deaths and serious injuries from liver failure. That petition cited 21 cases of liver failure and 11 deaths between 1994, when Serzone was first marketed, and spring 2002, the group said.

The group submitted a supplemental petition to the FDA in October 2003, highlighting 33 additional reports of liver failure, including nine deaths, from April 1, 2002, through May 12, 2003, for a total of 55 patients with liver failure, including 20 deaths.