Xanodyne agrees to take propoxyphene off US market, on FDA urging

Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held US generic drugmaker which makes Darvon and Darvocet, the brand version of the prescription pain medication propoxyphene, has agreed to withdraw the medication from the US market at the request of the Food and Drug Administration.

Propoxyphene was originally developed by drug major Eli Lilly, which sold it as Darvon and subsequently combined it with acetaminophen, another pain killer, marketed as Darvocet.

The FDA has also informed the generic manufacturers of propoxyphene-containing products of Xanodyne’s decision and requested that they too voluntarily remove their products. Both drugs are now marketed by Xanodyne and also by Qualitest/Vintage Pharmaceutical. About 10 million prescriptions were written for the products in the USA last year, according to a Dow Jones report.