Star: PETALING JAYA: The import and sale of a drug used to treat women with abdominal pain and constipation associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has been suspended with immediate effect.
The medication Zelmac (tegaserod maleate), which is marketed in the United States under the brand name Zelnorm, has been found by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to cause a higher incidence of cardiovascular events, according to a press statement by the Health Ministry’s Drug Control Authority (DCA) yesterday.
Zelnorm was taken off the US market recently. The suspension would be in effect until further information was obtained, said the ministry’s director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican.
The statement also said that Novartis Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd, which has suspended the import and sale of Zelmac had advised patients being treated with the medication to seek alternative treatment for their condition.
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