FDA updates warning on Sanofi's blood thinner Lovenox

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a new warning on the use of the anticoagulant Lovenox in patients fitted with a spinal catheter because of the risk of spinal column bleeding and potential paralysis. The FDA said on Wednesday that healthcare professionals should carefully consider timing when inserting or removing a spinal catheter in patients taking Lovenox, which is made by Sanofi SA, or its generic versions, which are sold under the name enoxaparin. The catheters, fine plastic tubes, are used to deliver painkillers or anesthetics directly into the spine. The drugs already contain a warning that patients who have received or are scheduled to receive low molecular weight heparins such as Lovenox are at risk of developing an epidural or spinal bleed that can result in paralysis.



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