Parker, Waichman, Alonso LLP

Home » Topics » Defective Drugs » Tequin

Suffered from Tequin Side Effects?

Tequin to be Pulled from the Market
On May 1, 2006, Bristol-Myers Squibb stated that it will cease making and selling its antibiotic Tequin. Tequin has been linked to serious cases of diabetes and other potentially fatal blood sugar abnormalities. According to a Canadian study that was supposed to appear in the New England Journal of Medicine in March, Tequin users had 17 times greater risk of developing serious diabetes and 4 times greater risk of being hospitalized with low blood sugar complications than patients using other antibiotics. Tequin (generic: gatifloxacin) received FDA approval in 1999.  Consumer group Public Citizen stated that there have been 388 patients with blood-sugar irregularities linked with Tequin since January 1, 2000.  Those cases included 20 deaths and 159 hospitalizations. The consumer group and various physicians called for the drug's withdrawal, claiming it carries great health risks but few benefits over similar drugs. 

Canadian Study
In March, 2006 the results of a Canadian study were released which showed that Tequin was linked to serious cases of diabetes and other blood sugar disorders. These results were set to appear in the March 30, 2006 New England Journal of Medicine but were released early due to the life threatening nature of the side effects. Based on the study's alarming findings, the author, Dr. David Juurlink of the Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Center in Toronto, questioned whether the drug should be immediately removed from the market. Other prominent physicians believed that a black box warning should be added to Tequin's warning label.

Warning for Diabetics May Apply to Anyone Taking Tequin
In early 2006, Bristol Myers Squibb and the FDA added a warning to the drug's label notifying diabetics not to take Tequin. However, the study's author said the  blood-sugar problem can happen to anybody whether they have diabetes or not, and it usually occurs within a few days of taking the drug. The risk of the drug might be even greater than the study revealed because it was only based on hospital data. If a patient suffered these side effects but wasn't hospitalized, or died, they would not have been included in the study data. 

About Tequin
Tequin is an antibiotic that is commonly used to treat adults with lung, sinus and urinary tract infections as well as certain sexually transmitted diseases. Tequin is an antibiotic in the class of drugs called fluoroquinolones, which also contains Cipro, Levaquin and Avelox. This recent study indicates that the risk of diabetes is specific to Tequin and is not a problem with the entire class of drugs. However, the entire class of drugs has been linked to tendon ruptures.  Last year Tequin had worldwide sales of $150 million, including $100 million in the United States.

Legal Help for Tequin Users
If you or a loved one took Tequin and suffered from diabetes, hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, or other blood sugar side effects, please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation by a qualified defective drugs attorney.