A pain reliever called Mobic showed an "increased risk" for heart attacks in preliminary data, a veteran US Food and Drug Administration scientist told an FDA advisory panel on Thursday. The drug, made by privately held Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, showed the higher risk in one study, said David Graham, associate director for science and medicine at the FDA's Office of Drug Safety. He said it was the only study on the issue.

"We found an increased risk," Graham said. "It's one study. It's the only study."

Mobic has become the top-selling prescription pain drug since Merck & Co Inc withdrew Vioxx, and any possible heart attack risk was important as more patients take the drug, Graham said. "You now have a shift in the marketplace," Graham said.

Abbott Laboratories, which markets Mobic in the United States, said last month it expected US sales of the drug to hit $1 billion in 2005.

Shares of Abbott were off 18 cents at $46.65 on the New York Stock Exchange in morning trade.

Boehringer argued against Graham's claims. "We've taken a look at our post-marketing data and see nothing to indicate excessive cardiovascular risk," a company spokesman said.

The FDA approved Mobic in 2000 to treat osteoarthritis, and in 2004 for rheumatoid arthritis.

Like aspirin and the widely used arthritis treatment naproxen, Mobic is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID, and can therefore cause ulcers and dangerous bleeding without warning.

Copyright Reuters, 2005