Pfizer Inc. says it is pulling its blood pressure drug Thelin off the market and stopping all clinical trials because the drug can cause fatal liver damage.
Thelin has been sold in Canada, the European Union and Australia as a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery.
Pfizer said a review of clinical trial data and other reports showed a new link to liver injury. Liver toxicity had been a known side-effect of the drug, the company said.
Since there are other treatment options, Pfizer said the benefits of Thelin don't outweigh the risks.
It is stopping all studies of the oral drug, which Pfizer acquired in 2008 when it bought Encysive Pharmaceuticals.
© The Canadian Press, 2010
via cbc.ca
