The FDA has officially made the recommendation that Darvocet be pulled from the market. The maker of the drug has complied. The painkilling drug causes dangerous abnormal heart rhythms. Doctors have been told to quit prescribing Darvocet, though the recommendation also advised individuals with the prescription to continue taking it.
No more Darvocet
The FDA asked that Darvocet and Darvon were removed from the market. The makers did this. Darvocet has the active ingredient Propoxyphene in it. Irregular heart rhythms could be caused by this. Drug approval agencies within the United Kingdom and European Union have already pulled propoxyphene-containing drugs like Darvocet off the market, as early as 2005. Prescriptions can no longer be filled by pharmacists or prescribed by doctors. They have all been advised to stop this.
2009 beginning questioning of Darvocet
In 1957, the FDA approved the active ingredient in Darvocet. For years, numerous wondered about the safety of the drug. This caused an FDA panel to suggest the drug get taken off the market in January 2006. The FDA wanted to study the drug more causing this recommendation to be rejected. There were studies going back as far as 31 years, sponsored by drugmaker Lilly, that stated “cardiac conduction depression might be a factor in some of the (human) cardiac toxicities associated with propoxyphene overdose.”
Money lost with the Darvocet ban in place
The recent ban on Darvocet is raising numerous questions about FDA drug approval and review procedures. Prescriptions for Darvocet or propoxyphene are filled a lot within the last 2 yrs. The estimated amount filled is 120 million. At approximately $70 per prescription, that means more than $8 billion worth of Darvocet has been sold. It is recommended by the FDA that anyone presently taking Darvocet meet with a health care provider about it. Continue taking the drug until after you've spoken with your doctor.
Articles cited
LA Times
latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/sc-dc-1120-fda-darvon-web-20101119,0,6525838.story
Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704170404575624580619320348.html
YubaNet
yubanet.com/opinions/Dr-Sidney-Wolfe-Delayed-FDA-Removal-of-Painkiller-Propoxyphene-Darvon-Darvocet-From-U-S-Market-Has-Cost-More-Than-1-000-U-S-Lives.php
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