NOVARTIS: Fondly known as Super Nova.Will it expand or contract?

ZURICH (AFX) - Novartis AG's Novartis Animal Health US Inc unit has been
sent a warning letter by the US Drug and Food Administration because of late
reports of fatalities in cats being tested with new COX-2 pain killer Deramaxx.
According to a statement published on the US health authority's web-site,
the death of 14 cats that were being tested with Deramaxx were reported to the
FDA months past the deadline for such reports.
Regulations require them to be filed within 15 days, the FDA said.
The drug is in the same chemical family as Merck & Co's arthritis and pain
medication Vioxx and Pfizer's arthritis drug Celebrex -- two human drugs that
have been linked to heart attacks.
Novartis' own COX-2 inhibitor Prexige has already been approved in the UK,
Australia, New Zealand and several countries in Latin America.
A Novartis spokesman said the cats were participating in an experiment
testing whether Deramaxx could be used in cats.
The company is no longer conducting such tests, he said.
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