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Here is the Pergolide timeline of events:
January 2007 -- Two studies, one on 11,417 patients in the United Kingdom (UK), and another on 245 patients in Italy, suggest that two types of drugs for treating Parkinson's disease may be causing leaky heart valves. The drugs are the ergot-derived dopamine receptors, Pergolides: Permax and Dostinex. The studies were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
February 2003 -- Following the Mayo Clinic report on Pergolide and heart disease, the FDA issued a safety alert for Parkinson's disease patients taking a Pergolide.
In a letter to doctors posted on the FDA Web site, drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. said that the Mayo Clinic report didn't prove a connection between Permax and heart disease.
However, Lilly acknowledged that in some cases patients' heart valve problems improved when they stopped taking the Parkinson’s Pergolide drug, Permax. The company agreed to add a warning about heart valve problems to the literature inserted in Pergolide (Permax) packages.
December 2002 -- To date, some 500,000 people have taken the Parkinson’s drug Permax.
December 2002 -- Mayo Clinic doctors say they suspect a link between Pergolide drug and heart disease -- specifically, damage to heart valves, also known as valvular heart disease or cardiac valvupathy.
Damage in three Pergolide patients was similar to heart problems suffered by those who took the fen-phen diet drug cocktail recalled in 1997. Two of the Pergolide (Permax) patients required surgery to replace heart valves.
Mayo doctors urged in-depth study of the effects of Pergolide (Permax). They also recommended that all Permax patients undergo heart tests, and that patients with the kind of damage associated with Pergolide be taken off the drug.
July 2001 -- Amarin Corp. acquires U.S. marketing rights to Pergolide for subsidiary Amarin Pharmaceuticals Inc.
2000 -- U.S. sales of Pergolide (Permax) reach approximately $40 million.
1989 -- Eli Lilly & Co. brings Permax to market.
December 1988 -- U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the Parkinson’s drug Pergolide (Permax) for treatment of the disease's symptoms such as tremors.
A Pergolide (Permax) warning label is not enough! If you have suffered heart damage and heart valve damage by taking Permax, you need a Permax lawyer to fight Eli Lily on your behalf. Contact us today.
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