Cancer drug may or may not be banned in Japan

[Mulboyne]

CBS: AstraZeneca's Iressa may be withdrawn in Japan
Japan's Ministry of Health is considering banning Iressa, a cancer drug made by British pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca, The Times (of London) reported, citing the ministry's acceptance of a report that linked the drug to 588 deaths. A ministry official told the Times that there was a "possibility" that Iressa would be withdrawn. An AstraZeneca official said "the regulatory status of Iressa in Japan is unchanged." Japan accounts for 40 percent of Iressa sales, which totalled $305 million in the first nine months of the financial year, the report said

Different spin to this article:

MDN: Panel OKs controversial cancer drug despite deaths
No controls should be placed on the controversial lung cancer drug Iressa for the time being, even though 588 people have died apparently from its side effects, an investigative panel set up by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has concluded. The ministry panel set up to investigate the drug, commonly known as gefitinib, based its decision on data suggesting that the drug brought survival benefits to Oriental people. The U.K.-based manufacturer and retailer of the drug, AstraZeneca, has already dropped applications for its approval in Europe based on clinical trials...Because of this and the fact that patients in Japan are hospitalized for four weeks before and after using the drug as a safety precaution, the ministry panel concluded that there was little need to restrict the drug's use.