Remicade Maker Warns Doctors About Lymphoma Risk

The maker of Remicade, a prescription drug for rheumatoid arthritis, is sending warning letters to doctors regarding a higher risk of lymphoma for patients taking the drug. Claiming this action has nothing to do with the recent withdrawal of Vioxx from the market, Centocor maintains the label change is in line with warnings recently added to Enbrel and Humira. There has been no direct link established between lymphoma and Remicade, but reportedly there were cases of lymphoma in clinical trials. Whether the cases of lymphoma were caused by the drug or a result of pre-existing conditions of the patients is hard to determine. The updated safety information for Remicade reads, "Reports of lymphoma (a type of cancer) in patients on Remicade and other TNF blockers are rare but occurs more often than in the general population. Tell your doctor if you have or have had cancer." This announcement came about a week after the FDA announced they had approved Remicade as first line therapy in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. In August 2004, the maker of Remicade also sent letters to doctors and updated the label regarding concern over hematologic and neurologic events.