Long-term PPI use may cause low magnesium levels, US FDA warns

3 March 2011

Prescription proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs may cause low serum magnesium levels (hypomagnesemia) if taken for prolonged periods of time (in most cases, longer than one year), the US Food and Drug Administration yesterday warned.

PPIs are widely used for treating ulcers, acid reflux and other conditions. About 21 million patients in the USA filled prescriptions for the drugs in 2009, the FDA said.

The drugs involved include AstraZeneca’s blockbuster market leader Nexium (esomeprazole), which garnered global sales of over $5 million last year, as well as Takeda’s Dexilant (dexlansoprazole) and Prevacid (lansoprazole), AstraZeneca’s Prilosec (omeprazole) and Vimovo (esomeprazole magnesium and naproxen)., Santarus’ Zegerid (omeprazole and sodium bicarbonate), Pfizer’s Protonix (pantoprazole sodium) and Johnson & Johnson/Eisai’s AcipHex (rabeprazole sodium). Over-the-counter (OTC) PPIs include Prilosec OTC (omeprazole), Zegerid OTC (omeprazole and sodium bicarbonate), and Prevacid 24HR (lansoprazole).

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