Avandia, Under Fire Once More!

Filed in archive Notable , Research , Treatment on July 27, 2009

GSK'S diabetes medication Avandia (rosiglitazone) is under fire once more.

Previously implicated in risk of heart attacks, Avandia is facing another criticism:
liver failure and death in some patients.

Researchers from the activist group Public Citizen reported the said connection to Avandia:

They wrote in the journal Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety that a review of adverse events reported to the Food and Drug Administration found 11 deaths due to liver toxicity between 1997 and 2006 associated with the drug, which is sold under the brand name Avandia. The group had petitioned the FDA in October to ban the drug because of the heart risks, and they renewed their call for action.

"Because of low reporting rates to the [FDA] database, the 11 cases likely represent a small fraction of the patients who developed liver failure because of the drug," said Dr. James Floyd of Public Citizen. He estimated that 1 in every 44,000 patients who take the drug develops liver failure.

The FDA should be over-vigilant with reports of adverse effects such as been reported on Avandia. Why is this medicine in the market when it does more harm than good?