Drugmakers Biogen and AbbVie voluntarily withdrew their multiple sclerosis drug Zinbryta from the global market, following eight reported cases of brain inflammation in patients using the medication, reports Reuters.
Here are four things to know.
1. Zinbryta, which treats about 3,000 patients worldwide, was approved by the FDA in 2016 with a boxed warning due to liver damage risks.
2. Biogen sold the drug in Switzerland, Canada and the European Union. AbbVie marketed the drug in the U.S.
3. The drugmakers' decision to withdraw the drug from the market is a result of eight cases of encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, and meningoencephalitis, which simultaneously resembles meningitis and encephalitis. The cases were reported in Germany and Spain.
4. The European Medicines Agency launched an urgent review into the product.