Report Calls for Motilium to Be Taken off Market over Link to Premature Deaths

The famous domperidone-containing medicine, Motilium, is widely used to treat nausea and vomiting. The effectiveness of this over-the-counter medication, however, is “too modest to justify the exposure to premature, sudden deaths,” Prescrire journal reported.

The independent journal called on the European Medicines Agency to take domperidone off the market, claiming that it is responsible for 25 to 123 sudden deaths in 2012 in France.

Prescrire is described as a "registered organism for the continuous training and evaluation of professional practices" on its website. The monthly publication was founded in 1981 and "aims to bring clear information to health professionals and, through them, patients about medicines and diagnostics and therapeutics strategies."

The report cites Dutch and Canadian studies that have been published since 2005, showing a link between cardiac rhythm issues and antipsychotic drugs, a group which domperidone is part of. 

In 2011, the risk of sudden death was flagged up by the French Medicines Agency (Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des Produits de Santé, ANSM) and the primary firm who market the product in France. The ANSM also warned against the unauthorized use of Motilium to ease breastfeeding.

Patients taking domperidone would be better off either taking a placebo or turning to proton pump inhibitors such as Omeprazole in cases involving acid reflux, according to the publication.

The European Medicines Agency has started a full review on the effects of domperidone, evaluating its benefit-to-risk ratio. The conclusion to the review is expected to be published in March of this year.