C.B. Fleet says its laxatives are safe

Quoted from http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/news/local/article/c.b._fleet_says_its_laxatives_are_safe/17323/

      C.B. Fleet says its laxatives are safe

By Bryan Gentry

Published: June 29, 2009

Six months after pulling two laxative drugs off drug store shelves, Lynchburg-based C.B. Fleet has collected thousands of cases of the drugs and is considering ways to put them back on the market.

Meanwhile, 38 lawsuits against the pharmaceutical company were consolidated last week into one federal court so pretrial work can continue smoothly. The lawsuits allege that the drugs C.B. Fleet recalled have caused serious kidney damage.

Chris McDaniel, chief scientific officer for C.B. Fleet, said the company continues to assert that the recalled drugs are safe when used as directed. C.B. Fleet wants to sell them again if it can ensure that they would be used correctly, he said.

The drugs in question use a formula that C.B. Fleet has made in Lynchburg for more than 100 years. Fleet Phospho-soda is a laxative, and Fleet Phospho-soda E-Z Prep Bowel Cleansing System is a double dose of the laxative used to clean the intestines before a colonoscopy.

Both drugs are classified as oral sodium phosphates and were available without a prescription.

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