County Sues GlaxoSmithKline over Avandia
Posted by Administrator (admin) on Mar 03 2010 at 12:11 PM
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A California county is suing GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of the Avandia, claiming that the company is falsely advertising the diabetes drug. The lawsuit intends to recoup the cost of the drug for hospitals, clinics, and counties across the state.

The complaint was spurred by a report on Avandia released by the U.S. Senate last week. According to the report, GlaxoSmithKline withheld information regarding serious side effects of the drug, including heart problems and death. Present issue is whether to take Avandia off the market.

The lawsuit appears to be the first one filed by government over the diabetes drug.

Referring to the San Jose Mercury News, the lawsuit states that Avandia use may have resulted in 60,000 to 200,000 heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths in the U.S. from 1999 to 2006.

Last week’s U.S. Senate report says both the drugmaker (GlaxoSmithKline) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should have warned patients regarding the hazards of the drug years before they did. The report also suggests taking Avandia off the market.

According to a study published by Dr. Steven Nissen in 2007, taking Avandia has a 43 percent higher risk of developing heart attack and 64 percent greater possibility of dying from a heart attack than those not using the drug.

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