Diabetes Drug Withdrawn from Market

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested that the diabetes drug troglitazone, sold under the brand name Rezulin, be withdrawn from the market. The drug has been linked to 63 deaths and 90 confirmed cases of liver failure since entering the market in mid-1997.

Public Citizen, a Washington, DC consumer advocacy group has urged the FDA to conduct a criminal investigation of the maker of Rezulin, Warner-Lambert. Public Citizen says that the company failed to notify the FDA within the 15 day limit required by law when studies showed the drug resulted in liver toxicity. The group says that Warner-Lambert did not inform the FDA of the studies until after the drug was approved for sale.

Rezulin generated Warner-Lambert revenues of $625 million in 1997 and $748 million in 1998.