Hypertension Drug Pulled From Shelves

A drug used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has been pulled from shelves over concerns it causes serious liver damage.

Physicians are being advised to transfer patients currently using Thelin to alternative medications. The drug will be available while people find other treatments.

Pfizer announced it was recalling the drug because of the risks of liver toxicity and all clinical trials have been stopped. Thelin was used to treat high blood pressure in the arteries affecting the lungs.

Liver toxicity was a known side-effect of the drug, however, Pfizer said a “new potentially life-threatening idiosyncratic risk of liver injury” came to light, prompting the recall.

“Pfizer has concluded that the overall benefit of Thelin no longer outweighs the risk in the general population of PAH patients,” the company said in a statement last week.

The drug is sold in Canada, the European Union and Australia.

Patients taking the drug who experience nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fever, unusual tiredness, abdominal pain or a yellow colouring of the skin or eyes should contact a doctor immediately.

With files from the Canadian Press

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today