Anaemia meds under review

The marketing and regulation of the commonly used anaemia drugs Epogen, Aranesp and Procrit are under review by a US Congressional committee. The review was prompted by recent evidence that the drugs may cause blood clots, worsen cancer or increase the risk of death if overused, The New York Times reports.

The drugs are mainly used to treat patients with anaemia caused by kidney failure or chemotherapy.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent letters to drug makers Amgen (Epogen and Aranesp) and Johnson & Johnson (Procrit), asking them to clarify when they knew about the possible risks associated with the drugs and how they have promoted the drugs, the Times reported.

On March 9, the US Food and Drug Administration and the drug makers agreed to put a "black box" warning (the most serious kind) on the labels of the anaemia drugs to warn about the newly identified risks. An FDA advisory panel is scheduled to meet on May 10 to discuss the safety of the drugs.

In the letters to the drug companies, committee members said they viewed reports of safety issues associated with the drugs "with increasing alarm." They also noted that as much as $700 million in annual sales of the three drugs were for uses that did not conform to the label, the Times reported. – (HealthDayNews)

March 2007