Consumer interest group Public Citizen called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Thursday to immediately ban the antidepressant medication Serzone, citing its link to life-threatening liver toxicity that has led to at least 11 deaths in the United States. In January, Serzone maker Bristol-Myers Squibb stopped selling the drug in Europe, where it was marketed under the brand name Dutonin, after a number of users, including 18 who died, developed liver complications such as jaundice, hepatitis, and liver failure.

Public Citizen argued that the FDA already requires that Serzone carry a black box warning, the strongest notice a medication can carry, alerting potential users to the drug's association with cases of life-threatening hepatic failure.