The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7479 p579
24 November 2007

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News summary

Treatment review needed for patients taking carisoprodol

Patients receiving treatment with carisoprodol (Carisoma) should have their treatment reviewed following a decision by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) to suspend all marketing authorisations for this medicine (PDF 50K).

The EMEA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has concluded that there is evidence for risk of abuse and addiction, intoxication and psychomotor impairment with carisoprodol and that the risks associated with it are greater than the benefits.

The EMEA recommends that any switch to new medication should be made gradually due to the risk of withdrawal symptoms.

Carisoprodol is currently available in 12 European countries, including the UK.