Feb 27, 2008

Anemia drugs may increase Death risk


A new study by a group of US researchers reveals that anti-anemia drugs can increase the risk of blood clots and death. The study, which appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said the drugs, including Amgen Inc's Aranesp and Johnson & Johnson's Procrit, raised the risk of death by 10 percent in patients who took them.

"Our findings, in conjunction with basic science studies, raise the concern that the drug may be stimulating cancer and shortening cancer patients' survival," Dr. Charles Bennett of Northwestern University in Chicago said in a statement. He said the drugs, erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), also increased the risk of blood clots in the lungs and legs by 57 percent in cancer patients.

Now, an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is due to discuss the safety concerns about these drugs on March 13. Link


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