News

Diabetes drug Avandia linked to Kansas City heart attacks

Posted on Feb 21, 2010

A new report by the Senate Finance Committee states that the diabetes drug Avandia has been linked with tens of thousands of heart attacks and that its maker, GlaxoSmithKline, knew of the danger but has worked to keep this information from the public.

The 344-page report also criticized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for overriding safety concerns found by staff members.

GlaxoSmithKline denies that there is any danger from the drug.

The Senate report was developed over two years by investigators who looked at documents from GlaxoSmithKline, the FDA and anonymous whistle blowers. According to the report, FDA scientists estimated that as of July 2007, Avandia was associated with approximately 83,000 heart attacks.

Committee investigators say that an outside study existed that showed the risk, but GlaxoSmithKline publically denounced these findings as false. FDA researchers also wrote “There is strong evidence that rosiglitazone [Avandia] confers an increased risk of [heart attacks] and heart failure compared to pioglitazone [a rival drug].”

Avandia has been under scrutiny by the medical community for several years. Both The New England Journal of Medicine and The Journal of the American Medical Association have questioned the safety of Avandia.

The Senate report did not make a recommendation about whether Avandia should stay on the market.

If you have suffered a heart attack after taking Avandia, call the Kansas City dangerous drugs and medical malpractice attorneys at the Roswold Law Group.