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FDA Panel: Avandia Does Raise Risk Of Heart Attack

A 33-member government advisory panel associated with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) came to the conclusion this week that controversial diabetes drug Avandia does indeed raise the risk of heart attack in those who take, but that the drug manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline should be more tightly controlled by the FDA in the future. Generally, though the panel agreed that diabetes drug Actos was safer for those with possible heart heath issues, they were mostly unsure about whether or not Avandia should be pulled from shelves in order to protect consumers.

Many members of the defective drug panel recommended a new warning label for Avandia, but stated that there was not enough conclusive evidence to warrant recalling the drug or stopping its production.

Whether or not Avandia increase the risk of heart attacks has been questioned as far back as 2005, and the public’s use of the blood sugar drug has declined sharply over the years. The FDA expects that its findings will further depress sales, along with the fact that a similar but safer diabetes drug is already available. The most recent and most thorough study of the drug found that although Avandia significantly increased the chances of heart failure, it did not significantly increase the risk of patient death.

The Avandia controversy is made even more complex because many believe that GlaxoSmithKline knew about the risks of taking their drug as long as a decade ago, but covered up the information.

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