Health Highlights: April 1, 2009

April 2 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

New Diabetes Drug Gets FDA Panel's Backing

An unapproved diabetes drug called saxagliptin has won the endorsement of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of experts, who said the drug doesn't appear to raise users' risks of heart attack or stroke, the Dow Jones news service reported Wednesday.

The FDA panel voted 10-2 to recommend approval by the full agency, which isn't bound by the experts' decision but usually follows such recommendations.

Concern about possible cardiovascular side effects stemmed, in part, from a 2007 study that linked the widely prescribed diabetes drug Avandia to an increased risk of heart attack, Dow Jones reported. The FDA has since strengthened guidelines regulating such drugs.

The full FDA could make a decision on saxagliptin's fate by the end of April, the news service said. If approved, the drug would be sold under the brand name Onglyza. It was developed by pharmaceutical companies Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca.

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Caraco Recalls Digoxin Tablets: Report

Generic heart tablets that may contain the wrong amount of medicine have been recalled by Detroit-based Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd.

The recall covers 0.125 milligram and 0.25 milligram digoxin tablets distributed before March 31 and with the expiration date of September 2011, Bloomberg news reported. Size differences among the pills may mean they have too much or too little of the active ingredient, said the company and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Errors in pill size could cause heart problems, serious side effects or death, especially in patients with kidney failure. So far, there have been no reports of anyone being harmed by the recalled tablets, said Caraco and the FDA.

Digoxin, used to treat heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms, is sold by several makers of generic drugs, Bloomberg reported.

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