Pfizer Clarifies Vibramycin Label

NEW YORK -- Pfizer Inc. (PFE) updated the label of its antibiotic Vibramycin (doxycycline) to highlight the drug's ability to treat inhaled anthrax.

The Food and Drug Administration requested the update.

Also, the company said it is donating more than $2 million in Vibramycin to the nation's emergency medical stockpile, which the government has been trying to add to since anthrax-laced letters began appearing in the U.S.

Vibramycin won FDA approval in 1967 and was the company's first once-a-day broad-spectrum antibiotic. The drug has been used primarily as a treatment for respiratory instructions.

In a press release Monday, Pfizer said the original indications also included treatment of anthrax caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis as an alternative therapy for patients who were not able to take penicillin.

Pfizer said Vibramycin may also be used for patients who have been exposed to cutaneous or gastrointestinal anthrax when bacteriologic testing indicates antibiotic treatment is appropriate.

Pfizer said it is a small supplier of the tablet and capsule forms of doxycycline, which is widely available from numerous generic manufacturers.

Earlier Monday, Pfizer and Pharmacia Corp. (PHA) won FDA approval for a new arthritis drug, Bextra. The Monday edition of The Wall Street Journal reported that Pharmacia won FDA approval for the drug sooner than expected, a development that could shake up the $6-billion market for Cox-2 inhibitors. The Cox-2 specific inhibitor is designed to treat osteoarthritis, adult rheumatoid arthritis and pain associated with menstrual cramping.