Avandia, a widely used drug to treat Type 2 diabetes, has now been linked to a significant increase in heart attacks for those who use the drug. The findings on Avandia (generic name rosiglitazone) will appear in the June 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine but were released early by the Journal due to the public health concern.
According to Forbes, "GlaxoSmithKline responded by issuing a strongly worded press release defending the safety of the drug. In the statement, company officials said that GSK "strongly disagrees with the conclusions reached in the New England Journal of Medicine article, which are based on incomplete evidence and a methodology that the author admits has significant limitations."
According to the study written by Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Nissen reviewed dozens of clinical trials and wrote a paper stating that Avandia users are 43% more likely to suffer a heart attack than non-Avandia users. Deaths from heart attacks while taking Avandia were 64% higher. Dr. Nissen argued that there was an urgent need for drug regulators to inform or warn the public about the findings.
The FDA is presently reviewing a large pool of data to determine the safety of the diabetes drug Avandia.
