Kyorin Pharmaceutical and Dainippon Sumitomo Halt Gatiflo Sales
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Tokyo based Kyorin Pharmaceutical and Dainippon Sumitomo voluntarily stopped selling oral antibioticGatiflo (gatifloxacin) Sept. 30. U.S. FDA removed gatifloxacin from its approved drug list due to serious side effects such as abnormal blood glucose levels. Manufactured by Kyorin and marketed by Dainippon Sumitomo, gatifloxacin is an oral antibiotic to treat pneumonia and other infections. Kyorin estimates the move will not negatively affect patients as there are many alternatives from other companies. The drug has been administrated to 14.7 million patients in Japan and the two companies reported ¥3.5 billion in Gatiflo sales last year. (Click here for more - Japanese language)