# Toronto IBS Self Help and Support Group Meeting - April 25



## Jeffrey Roberts (Apr 15, 1987)

The next meeting for the Toronto IBS Self Help Group is approaching.We will be meeting this Thursday, April 25, at Mount Sinai Hospital,600 University Avenue, Toronto, 15th floor classroom, from 7:00-8:30pm.This is a very important week for those that have been followingthe issues surrounding access to IBS medications. On April 23, theFDA Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee and the Drug Safetyand Risk Management Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee forPharmaceutical Science will be meeting in Bethesda, MD. The committeewill be discussing risk management for the drug Lotronex (alosetron)following GlaxoSmithKline's withdrawl of Lotronex from the market inNovember 2000 after reports of adverse side effects. Lotronex was usedfor diarrhea-predominant IBS.The Irritable Bowel Syndrome Self Help Group and Lotronex Action Group,of which I was a founder, have been actively seeking access to themedication since its withdrawal. On behalf of the IBS Self Help Group,I will be making an oral presentation to the committee. I leave forBethesda, MD on Monday morning.In late March, Novartis Pharmaceutical received approval to marketthe medication Zelnorm (tegaserod) in Canada. This might be somethingthat can be helpful for you if you suffer from constipation-predominantIBS. We should expect to see Zelnorm available sometime this summer.I look forward to seeing you at the April meeting where I hopeto have some positive news about Lotronex.If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.Jeff-------------------------------------------------------------------------Jeffrey Roberts, B.Sc.President & FounderIBS Self Help GroupEmail: ibs###ibsgroup.orgUrl: http://www.ibsgroup.org Ph: 416-932-3311Fax: 416-932-8909


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