FDA MedWatch

Botox and Botox Cosmetic (Botulinum toxin Type A) and Myobloc (Botulinum toxin Type B): Boxed Warning required

04/30/2009 - FDA notified healthcare professionals that after an ongoing safety review initiated in February 2008, the manufacturers of licensed botulinum toxin products will be required by FDA to strengthen warnings in product labeling and add a boxed warning regarding the risk of adverse events when the effects of the toxin spread beyond the site where it was injected.

FDA will also require that manufacturers develop and implement a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy [REMS], including a communication plan to provide more information regarding the risk for distant spread of botulinum toxin effects after local injection, as well as information to explain that botulinum toxin products cannot be interchanged. The REMS would also include a Medication Guide that explains the risks to patients, their families, and caregivers. FDA is requiring the manufacturers to submit safety data after multiple administrations of the product in a specified number of children and adults with spasticity to assess the signal of serious risk regarding distant spread of toxin effects.

FDA’s evaluation of the data continues to support the recommendations made in the 2008 Early Communication.

Read the MedWatch safety summary, including a link to the Communication about Botox, at:

http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2009/safety09.htm#Botox