Soon after it was marketed in 1966, we discussed ibufenac (Dytransin - Boots), an anti-inflammatory analgesic intended for the treatment of chronic rheumatic disease (DTB 1966, 4, 46). In February 1968 it was withdrawn, after what must have been a difficult and painful decision for the makers. A letter from Boots’ Marketing Manager to general practitioners and consultants stated that ‘in the light of a review of the status of Dytransin and of current medical opinion on drugs which have any hepatotoxic activity, it is now considered desirable to withdraw the drug from the market’. No facts were given.
A Case of Chronic Rheumatic Disease