Peter Wolf, a Warner-Lambert spokesman, said his company wanted the drug approved.

The team found that seven drugs approved since 1993 and later taken off the market had been "reported as possibly contributing to 1,002 deaths."

For example, more than 70 million Americans suffer from some form of arthritis, so drugs approved today for that condition would have a vast market.

The two drugs approved for hepatitis B, lamivudine and adefovir, work similarly.

Because of the possibility of war with Iraq, "there was interest in having the drug approved," he said.

Regarding Iressa, a company spokeswoman said the scheduling of the advisory panel meeting was "a very positive step to getting the drug approved this year."

He called the five drugs already approved "a really quite rapid beginning."

Although Bristol-Myers seems to be pulling back its threat to terminate the agreement, it still wants a bigger role in having the drug approved.

The companies understand that the pharma-political environment - regulations and getting new drugs approved - is getting more difficult.

The other leading drug approved for restless legs syndrome, Mirapex, is still available as a brand name only.