Cardiologists at the Cleveland Clinic have voted to "either ban or severely curtail" use of the heart drug Natrecor after two recently published studies showed it involves serious risks. A panel will vote today to decide if the ban should be a full one. Natrecor is manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. The news is likely to lead to similar actions at cardiology departments across the country. Johnson & Johnson had argued the drug should remain on the market, and had proposed labeling changes to notify physicians of potential risks.
For more on Natrecor:
- see this story from The New York Times