Patient Group Responds To Renewed Allegations That Lotronex Is Unsafe:
April 18, 2001, Atlanta, Georgia

Responding to comments by a consumer activist organization that the FDA would be
reckless to consider renewed access of a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome
(IBS), the Lotronex Action Group, a non-profit patient group seeking renewed
access to Lotronex, today urged the FDA and GlaxoSmithKline not to lose sight of
the patients.

The medical community has been slow to recognize IBS as a legitimate disease
that can have debilitating side affects. The Lotronex Action Group is very
concerned that efforts for reintroduction of the only affective treatment for
IBS patients, suffering from severe diarrhea and abdominal pain, will be
derailed due to a lack of understanding of the severity of the symptioms IBS can
cause.

The Lotronex Action Group maintains the medicine is safe and that although
claims have been made that more cases of severe side affects have been linked
to Lotronex, it appears that less than a fraction of 1% of the 300,000 people
taking the medicine were affected. Moreover, no data has been released
proving those that suffered from side affects were properly diagnosed and
should have been taking the medicine to start with.

Lotronex Action Group http://www.lotronexactiongroup.org 
<lotronexactiongroup@yahoo.com>

Tom Bell, Coordinator
Richard Fireman, Coordinator
Corey Miller, Coordinator

Jeffrey Roberts, President & Founder IBS Self Help Group
ibs@ibsgroup.org