A Food and Drug Administration panel Monday unanimously backed a proposed GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) drug for treating kidney cancer despite agency concerns about a risk of severe liver injury…

But panel members, which included experts in liver injury, said it wasn't clear if the three deaths were from drug-induced liver injury.

"I think the other drugs in this class are difficult to use and they have toxicities that are equally formidable," said Ronald Richardson, a consultant at Mayo Clinic's oncology department. "This drug may be a good addition to the armamentarium."

Wall Street Journal by Jennifer Corbett Dooren, 10/5/09

Tags: Cancer, FDA, GlaxoSmithKline, pazopanib