Group calls on
FDA to halt STD treatment

The Washington, D.C.-based public interest watchdog group Public Citizen is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to halt sales of Bristol-Myers Squibb's antibiotic Tequin (gatifloxacin) after reports have surfaced that the drug can cause abnormal blood-sugar levels. Some patients taking the medication have died, The Washington Post reports. The drug is used to treat some sexually transmitted diseases as well as certain lung, sinus, and urinary tract infections.

Since January 2000, the FDA has received nearly 400 reports of dangerously high or low blood-sugar levels associated with the drug, and 20 of those patients died as a result. BMS announced last week that it will stop making the drug but that large unsold stocks remain on the market. In 2005, pharmacies filled 1.2 million prescriptions for Tequin. (The Advocate)