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FDA panel votes against new COPD treatment as agency sends out stream of warning letters, asks investigation of radiation devices
By MELLY ALAZRAKI
Daily Finance
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the past few days has been quite busy acting on drugs, warning pharmaceuticals over ads and asking manufacturers to investigate therapy radiation devices.
Late Wednesday, and FDA advisory panel voted against recommending approval of an experimental drug to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)—a common and deadly lung disorder. The advisors weren’t convinced that the modest benefits of the drug, Daxas, from Forest Laboratories (FRX) and Nycomed, outweighed the risks, including severe diarrhea, weight loss, cancer, psychiatric problems and suicides. The panel
