Health trends

Avandia stays on the market

The drug Avandia, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline for the treatment of diabetes, should stay on the market after US federal-health experts voted last Wednesday on the matter. However, the controversial diabetes pill should be subject to new restrictions due to risky heart-side effects.

A panel of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisers voted 20-12 to keep the once blockbuster pill available for diabetics. But 10 panellists also called for limiting who can receive and prescribe the much-debated medication.

The vote marks a tough win for British drugmaker Glaxo, which is facing thousands of lawsuits from patients who say Avandia caused their heart attacks or strokes. While the company may fare better in court due to the panel ruling, sales of Avandia are likely to shrink to minuscule levels. The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panellists, though it usually does. FDA officials said they would review the recommendations and make a decision on Avandia as soon as possible.

The vote came despite an earlier ruling by the panel that Avandia appears to increase heart-attack risk, underscoring the often contradictory evidence for and against the drug. Panellists voted 21-4 that Avandia is more likely to cause heart attack than its closest competitor, Actos. Eight panellists said there was not enough information to make a decision.

Ultimately, though, panellists said the risks were not severe enough to justify removing a drug used by hundreds of thousands of patients.

Source: The Associated Press