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Genentech Withdraws Psoriasis Drug Linked to Brain Infections

April 10, 2009

Genentech Inc. began pulling its psoriasis treatment Raptiva from the U.S. market because of the drug’s link to a rare, fatal brain disorder that has troubled at least four other medicines.

 

Genentech, the biotechnology company acquired last month by Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG, has told doctors not to write prescriptions for new patients as part of a phased withdrawal of Raptiva to be completed by June 8, the South San Francisco-based company said yesterday in a statement. About 2,000 U.S. patients may be taking Raptiva, Genentech said

 

The decision to withdraw the drug, which generated $108 million in U.S. sales for Genentech last year, came after three patients were diagnosed since October with the brain infection progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, two of whom died, said Tara Cooper, a Genentech spokeswoman. The risk of PML, which causes irreversible brain damage, outweighed Raptiva’s benefits in controlling psoriasis, the company concluded.

 

Read Article: Bloomberg

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

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