WASHINGTON – An experimental blood pressure drug once heavily promoted by Bristol-Myers Squibb is too risky to be sold, government advisers said Friday. The recommendation is a serious blow to the drug, Vanlev.

Bristol-Myers had stoked expectations that Vanlev would become one of its next big sellers.

Then scientists revealed it can cause a fairly rare but life-threatening side effect, facial swelling sometimes severe enough to block the airways. For unknown reasons, it appeared to strike black patients two or three times more often than whites.

And some studies suggested Vanlev was no more effective than existing, cheaper prescriptions, while others held out hope it might prove a drug of last resort for the most difficult-to-treat patients.