Arava - An Improved Drug? |
| A recent study has found that only 15% of new drugs approved in the last decade were novel chemicals that the FDA deemed a significant improvement over older drugs. It is not just Arava liver failure that is the concern, but of lymphoma, hypertension, and other problems have also been reported. |
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Dangers of Arava Arava is dangerous, not just because of the life threatening and serious Arava side effects associated to the rheumatoid arthritis drug, but because the inability to predicts which patients are at risk and the short amount of time it takes for the drug to affect someone. In six months Arava patients have suffered from the dangerous side effects associated to the drug and even when discontinuing the rheumatoid arthritis drug treatment patients are still at risk because it remains within the body as it slowly dissipates. Rheumatoid arthritis affects around 2 million Americans, typically affecting adults between the ages of 25-50. If you have taken Arava and would like more information due to
the serious Arava
side effects that you have, or still are, experiencing, please
CONTACT
US to learn more. |
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Arava is especially dangerous due to the amount of time the drug remains in the body after discontinuing its use, so the risk of harming an unborn baby can still be great. click here to read more » |
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A recent study has found that only 15% of new drugs approved in the last decade were novel chemicals that the FDA deemed a significant improvement over older drugs. click here to read more » |
Arava - Liver Failure |
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| More than two million Americans are affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA), normally first affecting individuals between the ages of 25-30 when their immune system begins to attack their cartilage. In the past, methotrexate was used to treat rheumatoid arthritis patients until the FDA approved Arava (leflunomide), manufactured by Aventis Pharmaceuticals in September 1998. Since then, the FDA has received 130 reports of severe Arava liver toxicity that includes 56 hospitalizations and 12 deaths. The Public Citizen consumer group filed a petition on March 28, 2002 for the FDA to immediately ban Arava from the market. | Public Citizen is proactive in questioning FDA action regarding pharmaceutical drugs and questions why Arava was approved by the FDA simply to provide different options for patients but showed no signs of working better than already available treatments such as methotrexate. In addition, Arava has been found to have six times more FDA reports of liver damage than methotrexate. The two rheumatoid arthritis drugs work equally well, so Public Citizen wants Arava's sales banned. The FDA is still reviewing Public Citizen's petition. | ||
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Arava
Side Effects Arava linked to 12 deaths The first warning that Arava was linked to liver failure was in February 2001 when the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medical Products issued a warning to doctors and patients. The agency cited nine deaths that had occurred from liver failure in Arava patients. Arava's manufacturer, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, issued letters to physicians following the agency's warning throughout Europe but did not warn the U.S. physicians and patients for another two months. Arava was developed as an alternate medication for rheumatoid arthritis. Methotrexate had been the predominant rheumatoid arthritis medication until the approval of Arava. The FDA approved Arava in 1998 but said it was no better than methotrexate but Arava would allow patients to have options. Dr. Yocum has worked on arthritis drug development for almost 20 years and has never supported taking a drug off the market until Arava. If you have taken Arava and would like more information due to
the serious Arava side effects that you have, or still are, experiencing,
please -March 28, 2002 Arava can cause stevens
johnson syndrome learn more...
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Arava (leflunomide) manufacturer was sent a letter from the Department of Health and Human Services notifying them that The Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications reviewed their submissions and found they had violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The FDA had identified violations in the following Arava materials:
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