Health Canada orders Parkinson drug off market

From CTV News:
Health Canada is ordering a drug used for treatment of Parkinson's disease off the market.

The department has told maker Eli Lilly that sales of the drug Permax (pergolide mesylate) must cease as of Aug. 30. Studies have shown the drug can cause serious heart valve damage in some users.

Eli Lilly voluntarily withdrew the drug from the U.S. market in late March after studies in the New England Journal of Medicine underscored the valve problem risk.

Health Canada says there are alternatives to Permax available to people with Parkinson's disease. ..more

Health Canada reviewing link between Parkinson's drug Permax and heart valve conditions

From Health Canada:
Health Canada is informing Canadians that Permax, a drug used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, has been withdrawn from the U.S. market amidst concerns about an association with cardiac valvulopathy, a condition involving inflammation or stiffening of the heart valves.

Permax (a brand name of the drug pergolide) has been marketed in Canada since 1991 for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The risk of heart valve problems has been known with this drug and is in the current labelling. Health Canada communicated information regarding this risk to Canadian healthcare providers and patients in 2003 and again in 2004.
For the public