FDA Rejects New Drug for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
FDA Rejects New Drug for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Editor's Note: In March 2007 the FDA asked Novartis -- the maker of Zelnorm -- to pull the drug from the market because of evidence that it raises the risk of heart attacks and stroke. But in July 2007 the FDA ruled that Zelnorm may be used by some patients in critical need of the drug who do not have heart problems.
June 20, 2001 (Washington) -- The FDA decided not to approve the drug for irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, called Zelnorm, despite an approval recommendation from the regulators' own advisory committee.
In a letter to Novartis, the manufacturer of Zelnorm, the FDA said it rejected the drug because of concerns that it may necessitate surgery to remove the gall bladder in some people, company spokeswoman Jill Pozarek tells WebMD. The FDA said that more data on the association between the drug and gall bladder removal would be required before it could be approved.
"There is no evidence that the drug would result in [gall bladder] surgery," Pozarek says. She notes that only six people out of the more than 4,500 enrolled in clinical trials of Zelnorm had to have their gall bladder removed. And one of the six was in the placebo group and did not take the drug.
IBS patients often have to undergo this type of surgery, she says, so it's difficult to attribute all the surgery cases to the drug.
However, Steven Itzkowitz, MD, chief of gastroenterology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, tells WebMD that although IBS patients may often have symptoms that resemble gall bladder problems, he's not aware of them undergoing gall bladder removal surgery more often than the general population.
Symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain, constipation, and/or diarrhea. The IBS Self Help Group, a patient advocacy organization, estimates that as many as 4.7 million Americans suffer from the condition and about 70% are women. IBS has no known cause, and there is no drug specifically indicated for the condition.
IBS can be so disruptive to a person's daily life that many sufferers have said they would be willing to accept the risk of gall bladder removal for a chance at relief, says Jeffrey Roberts, president and founder of the IBS Self Help Group and an IBS patient himself.
FDA Rejects New Drug for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Editor's Note: In March 2007 the FDA asked Novartis -- the maker of Zelnorm -- to pull the drug from the market because of evidence that it raises the risk of heart attacks and stroke. But in July 2007 the FDA ruled that Zelnorm may be used by some patients in critical need of the drug who do not have heart problems.
June 20, 2001 (Washington) -- The FDA decided not to approve the drug for irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, called Zelnorm, despite an approval recommendation from the regulators' own advisory committee.
In a letter to Novartis, the manufacturer of Zelnorm, the FDA said it rejected the drug because of concerns that it may necessitate surgery to remove the gall bladder in some people, company spokeswoman Jill Pozarek tells WebMD. The FDA said that more data on the association between the drug and gall bladder removal would be required before it could be approved.
"There is no evidence that the drug would result in [gall bladder] surgery," Pozarek says. She notes that only six people out of the more than 4,500 enrolled in clinical trials of Zelnorm had to have their gall bladder removed. And one of the six was in the placebo group and did not take the drug.
IBS patients often have to undergo this type of surgery, she says, so it's difficult to attribute all the surgery cases to the drug.
However, Steven Itzkowitz, MD, chief of gastroenterology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, tells WebMD that although IBS patients may often have symptoms that resemble gall bladder problems, he's not aware of them undergoing gall bladder removal surgery more often than the general population.
Symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain, constipation, and/or diarrhea. The IBS Self Help Group, a patient advocacy organization, estimates that as many as 4.7 million Americans suffer from the condition and about 70% are women. IBS has no known cause, and there is no drug specifically indicated for the condition.
IBS can be so disruptive to a person's daily life that many sufferers have said they would be willing to accept the risk of gall bladder removal for a chance at relief, says Jeffrey Roberts, president and founder of the IBS Self Help Group and an IBS patient himself.