Exubera Label Now Includes Warning for Lung Cancer

A press release from Pfizer, dated April 9, 2008, states that product labeling for Exubera, the company's inhaled insulin, has been changed to include a warning that lung cancer cases have been observed in patients who have used Exubera.

A clincial trial that involved 4,740 people who used Exubera and 4,292 people who did not, showed that 6 of the Exubera group developed lung cancer, versus only 1 person in the group who did not use the drug.

Pfizer does say that all of the people who were diagnosed with lung cancer had also been smokers, and that the study was too small to say for sure that the lung cancer was caused by Exubera.

Pfizer actually stopped marketing Exubera in October of 2007, because sales did not meet expectations. However there are still people who use Exubera, such as people who are in extended transition programs or clinical trials.

Pfizer recommends that people who are still using Exubera should talk to their doctors about other options to treat their diabetes.

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