The Food and Drug Administration is forcing the drug giants Amgen and Johnson & Johnson to publicize the risks of their anemia drugs on cancer patients.
Procrit manufactured by Johnson & Johnson and Aranesp and Epogen manufactured by Amgen are multi-million dollar anemia drugs prescribed to cancer patients. The drugs have the ability to limit the number of blood transfusions undertaken by cancer patients. Recent studies have shown that while these drugs may limit the need for blood transfusion they can cause tumors to grow in patients taking the prescribed medications.
The FDA has set up a risk management plan for the companies to warn patients and doctors of the risks associated with these anemia medications. Under the plan the Amgen and Johnson & Johnson have to register each oncologist who prescribes their drugs and ensure that the all of the drugs' risks have been discussed before they are prescribed to patients.
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FDA asks companies to discuss anemia drug risks
