It’s unsafe and never proven effective, yet still OK with the FDA

Warning: This banned bone drug still being prescribed in U.S.
There are millions of hip, arm and vertebrae fractures every year. And for many, a hip fracture is a death sentence.

But there’s something you should be even more afraid of than osteoporosis.

It’s an osteoporosis drug. And doctors write hundreds of thousands of prescriptions for it every year. And not only does it have some big risks that go along with it, it turns out that it doesn’t even work.

That’s right — no benefits, just all risk.

Even Big Pharma admits it has not seen any evidence that it prevents fractures!

So if you get an Rx for this drug, see what experts around the world are saying before you fill that prescription.

The drug is called calcitonin-salmon. Salmon is in the name because it’s a man-made version of a hormone found in salmon. And it can be given by nasal spray or injection.

The drug isn’t new, and experts have been sounding the alarm on it for almost two decades.

Like I said, there is no evidence that it will prevent fractures. That should be enough to get it taken off the market. Unbelievably Novartis, which makes a brand of it called Miacalcin, admits that. It says right there on the label that its ability to reduce fractures has “not been demonstrated.”

But what has been demonstrated is this: It can cause cancer.

It’s so bad, in fact, that this drug has been banned in Europe and Canada!

That’s right, Health Canada — the Canadian version of the FDA said last year that risk from this drug is greater than any benefit. And in 2012, the European Medicines Agency said the same thing.

So why are doctors still allowed to prescribe it in the U.S.?

That’s what Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen wanted to know.

Last year he testified before an FDA committee and told them that all of the studies done by both the FDA and Novartis showed a high risk of cancer from the drug. He told them about three “fracture trial” studies that were done, none of which showed that it gave any protections against bone fractures.

And the committee agreed with him.

It voted 12 to 9 against continuing to allow calcitonin to be prescribed for osteoporosis. Those 12 experts on the committee all said Dr. Wolfe was right.

Then why is it still on the market in the U.S.?

Because despite the fact that FDA staff members agreed with Dr. Wolfe that this drug is just too dangerous, the agency overruled its committee. It said this risky drug can continue to be given to patients.

And Europe and Canada used the exact same evidence that the FDA had before it when it was banned in those countries.

Public Citizen, which has had this drug on its “Do Not Use” list since 1995, has done all it can to get this dangerous med off the market. And the FDA, which obviously has no concept of how to do its job of protecting us, has refused to act.

So, once again, it’s up to you to protect yourself against a highly risky and ineffective Rx that can only do more harm than good.

The brand names of this drug are Fortical and Miacalcin. The generic versions are just called calcitonin-salmon.

Sources:
“Do Not Use MIACALCIN Nasal Spray or Other Calcitonin-Containing Drugs for Osteoporosis” Worst Pills Best Pills Newsletter, May 2014, worstpills.org