Franco-German pharmaceutical company Aventis SA said Tuesday that five Japanese have died after taking its arthritis drug and said it has warned doctors against prescribing it to patients with respiratory problems. It has not been confirmed whether the drug, Arava, caused the deaths, but doctors in two cases believe the medication may have been responsible, said Yota Kikuchi, a spokesman at the company’s Tokyo-based subsidiary, Aventis Pharma Japan. Sixteen people developed interstitial pneumonia, a debilitating lung condition, after taking Arava. Five of them, aged between 57 and 71, subsequently died, Kikuchi said.
