# Reuters: GSK says Lotronex relaunch unlikely



## Jeffrey Roberts (Apr 15, 1987)

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/010424/l24359686.html Tuesday April 24, 9:03 am Eastern TimeGSK says Lotronex relaunch unlikelyLONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: GSK.L) Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Garnier said on Tuesday the group's controversial bowel drug Lotronex was unlikely to go back on sale following its forced withdrawal last year.``I think the odds are low that we will see Lotronex reintroduced,'' he told reporters in a conference call.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last November requested the product be withdrawn, citing three deaths as possibly linked to the drug.Garnier said the regulator had indicated it would reconsider Lotronex's reintroduction if there was a way to predict which patients might be at risk. However, no such predictive test existed and as a result discussions with the FDA had reached an ``impasse'', Garnier said.Lotronex was developed to treat irritable bowel syndrome which can cause disabling bouts of constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and bloating.


----------

