The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning that Daiichi Sankyo Co.'s blood pressure agent Benicar and its similar variants can cause severe chronic diarrhea and substantial weight loss.
The warning applies to olmesartan medoxomil drugs marketed as Benicar, Benicar HTC, Azor and Tribenzor, the FDA said in a safety information bulletin Tuesday.
The prescription drug goes under the name of Olmetec in Japan.
Health care professionals should tell patients to contact them if they develop the symptoms while taking one of the products, even if it takes months or years for symptoms to develop, the U.S. agency said.