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Article: Drugs for radiation contamination.(Updates)
- Article from:
- FDA Consumer
- Article date:
- November 1, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Two drugs that have been used for decades as investigational treatments in emergencies were approved by the FDA in August 2004 to treat radiation contamination due to plutonium, americium, or curium. Pentetate calcium trisodium injection (Ca-DTPA) and pentetate zinc trisodium injection (Zn-DTPA) help eliminate these radioactive materials from the body, lowering the risk of developing certain cancers and other biological effects. The drugs are the first approved to treat contamination by the three radioactive substances.
To encourage submission of new drug applications for the two drugs, the FDA announced in September 2003 the specific conditions and findings ...