According to the news provider, the company is currently looking to bring back the drug, which once had a potential to bring in $1 billion in sales.The painkiller, which has been renamed Joicela, has reportedly been submitted to regulators in the European Union for approval, the news source said. Sales of the medication were shut down in 2007 after reports that the drug could lead to liver damage.
Approval of the painkiller would reportedly help Novartis to replace the sales from some of its products that are facing increased competition from generic medications, the news provider said. The drug is in the same group of medications as Merck's Vioxx, which was pulled off the market in 2004 due to links to strokes and heart attacks.
If the drug is approved in Europe, it would only be given to patients who are not shown to be prone to liver damage, according to the pharmaceutical company's annual report.