Problem-plagued antibiotic to come off the market

WASHINGTON Its maker is pulling an antibiotic off the market after serious blood-sugar complications cropped up.

Tequin (TEH'-kwin) is used to treat chronic bronchitis, sinusitis, pneumonia, urinary tract and other infections.

Bristol-Myers Squibb said today it plans to stop making and selling the drug. A spokesman says the company will return rights to the drug to a Japanese company.

The antibiotic was approved for sale in 1999. It has faced questions about effects on blood sugar. In February, the Food and Drug Administration required more strict warnings on the label. Bristol-Myers has warned against use by diabetics and says the elderly and people with kidney disease are more likely to have trouble.

Public Citizen is asking the F-D-A for a ban. In its petition, the public interest group says 20 deaths and 159 hospitalizations since 2000 have been tied to the drug.

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