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Drug for irritable bowel syndrome taken off the market

BMJ 2000; 321 doi: 10.1136/bmj.321.7274.1429/a (Published 9 December 2000)
Cite this as: BMJ 2000;321:1429.2

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  1. Fred Charatan
  1. Florida

    Alosetron hydrochloride (Lotronex), a prescription drug manufactured by GlaxoWellcome, and used to treat irritable bowel syndrome in women, has been withdrawn after reports of serious complications.

    The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that it had reviewed a total of 70 cases of serious adverse events, including 49 cases of ischaemic colitis and 21 cases of severe constipation. Of the 70 cases, 34 resulted in admission to hospital without surgery, 10 resulted in surgical procedures, and three resulted in death. The …

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