A study of 810,000 people recently published by the British Medical Journal found that individuals taking Avandia are 23 percent more likely to suffer congestive heart failure than those taking other medications. The study also showed these individuals were 16 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack and 14 percent more likely to die while taking Avandia. Read the story from The Telegraph here.
Last September European authorities chose to suspend the license for Avandia amid growing concerns. The recent study is more evidence that they made the right decision.
U.S. regulatory officials have not made the same determination, and Avandia remains available and continues to be prescribed as a type 2 diabetes treatment.
In the U.S. Avandia has carried a “black box” warning for heart risks since November of 2007, but last September an FDA advisory committee voted against recalling the drug over these potential risks.
GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Avandia, are facing hundreds of lawsuits filed by people who claim that Avandia did not carry adequate warnings to make patients and healthcare providers aware of the potential risks associated with the drug.
The emergence of this new study will likely strengthen Avandia heart failure claims and lead to a new rash of Avandia lawsuits.
Hopefully this new evidence will lead to a reevaluation by the FDA, and hopefully this time they will make the decision to remove this dangerous drug from the U.S. drug market.
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