FDA NEWS

FDA Requests Boxed Warnings on Older Class of Antipsychotic Drugs
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today exercised its new authority under the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA) to require manufacturers of "conventional" antipsychotic drugs to make safety-related changes to prescribing information, or labeling, to warn about an increased risk of death associated with the off-label use of these drugs to treat behavioral problems in older people with dementia.

FDA Announces Limited Return of Heartworm Drug to U.S. Market
ProHeart 6 Sustained Release Injectable for Dogs, manufactured by Fort Dodge Animal Health, is an approved injectable sustained-release heartworm prevention product for dogs. FDA is concurring with its limited return, to the U.S. veterinary market under a risk minimization and restricted distribution program designed to manage the re-introduction of ProHeart 6 to provide for safe, appropriate use of the product while minimizing risk to dogs.

FDA's Chief Scientist Asks Science Board Subcommittee to Review Research on Bisphenol-A
Frank M. Torti, M.D., M.P.H., the FDA's principal deputy commissioner and chief scientist, this week asked Science Board Chairwoman Barbara J. McNeil, M.D., Ph.D., head of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, to establish a subcommittee to assess BPA, a substance used in some plastic baby bottles, food containers, and water bottles.

Heartworm Prevention in Your Pet
A variety of FDA-approved heartworm prevention products are available to protect your pet from this potentially deadly infection, including ProHeart 6 injection for dogs under a restricted distribution program.

Warning for Regranex—Cream for Leg and Foot Ulcers
A boxed warning has been added to the label of Regranex Gel 0.01% (becaplermin) to address the increased risk of cancer death in patients who use three or more tubes of the product.