Possible carcinogen found in AIDS drug_6095

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Pfizer shares were off 1.1 per cent,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, or 26 cents, to $23.99 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The agency and Pfizer agreed that pregnant women and children who are starting HIV therapy should not be given Viracept until further notice, the letter said.
Possible carcinogen found in AIDS drug
A potential human carcinogen has been found in batches of Pfizer Inc's AIDS drug Viracept, US regulators say.
Levels of the substance, ethyl methanesulfonate or EMS,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, were "substantially lower" than those that prompted Roche Holding AG to recall the same drug in Europe, a Pfizer letter to physicians said.
Pregnant women currently taking Viracept should be switched to an alternative medicine while manufacturing changes are implemented to limit EMS levels,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, the letter added.
For pregnant women with no alternative treatment options, "FDA and Pfizer agree that the risk-benefit ratio remains favourable for the continued use of Viracept," the letter said.
A Pfizer spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.
A Food and Drug Administration notice called EMS a "potential human carcinogen." Studies suggest EMS may cause cancer and birth defects in animals but no data in humans exist, the FDA and Pfizer said.
Pediatric patients who are stable on Viracept-containing regimens may continue to be treated with the drug,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, the letter said.