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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Jon Ungoed-Thomas

EU drugs watchdog probes painkiller linked to deaths

Nolotil is the Spanish brand of metamizole, which is being investigated by the EU medicines regulator.
Nolotil is the Spanish brand of metamizole, which is being investigated by the EU medicines regulator. Photograph: agsaz/Alamy

An investigation has been launched by the European drugs regulator into a popular painkiller linked to a series of illnesses and deaths.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), one of the biggest EU regulators, confirmed on Friday it was reviewing the painkiller metamizole, which can lead to agranulocytosis, a potentially fatal condition in which a patient’s white blood cells are severely depleted.

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