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FDA Studies Asthma Drug's Potential Suicide Link

Reports from patients taking Singulair spark probe

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 27, 2008

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is looking into a potential link between an asthma drug manufactured by Merck & Co. and suicidal behavior. The drug in questions, says the FDA, is Singulair.

The agency says its probe was sparked by an undisclosed number of reports of suicidal tendencies and thinking among patients using the drug. Most people taking the drug are using it to treat both allergy and asthma symptoms.

Merck describes the drug as "a prescription medicine approved to help control symptoms of asthma in adults and children 12 months and older and for relief of symptoms of indoor and outdoor allergies (outdoor allergies in adults and children as young as 2 years and indoor allergies in adults and children as young as 6 months)."

It says side effects are generally mild and vary by age, and may include headache, ear infection, sore throat, and upper respiratory infection.

The FDA stressed that it had not made a definite link between the drug and suicidal behavior, and that its investigation into a possible link could take up to nine months. It has also asked Merck to recheck its research data to look for any possible link or troubling trend.

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