Diabetes drug Avandia will not be withdrawn from the Market

Posted on August 1, 2007 in Latest News

Avandia, a diabetes drug, has been linked to heart attacks and death by health researchers. Despite these allegations this drug will not be pulled off from the market and will continue to be sold.

Diabetes patients are more prone to heart attacks than other people because the disease damages blood vessels. A study was conducted on the effects of the drug Avandia, and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It found that the use of Avandia increased the chances of heart failure and death by 43 per cent. Another study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, found that Avandia doubles the risk of heart failure in some patients .

A panel was set up by the Food and Drug Administration in the US to investigate into this cause. According to the panel there was not enough evidence to pull it from the shelves as there had been conflicting studies on the drug. The panel also felt that other diabetes medicines might have similar risks.

GlaxoSmithKline - a British research based pharmaceutical, biologicals and healthcare company - argued that there is no increased risk, citing its own analyses of studies of Avandia.

According to federal advisers Avandia, once the world’s top-selling diabetes pill, should remain in the market. But many recommended that the drug should not be sold in the market due to the heart risks it carries along. Various healthcare companies state that every drug comes with its own advantages and disadvantages, and are prescribed on a case-by-case basis. So withdrawing Avandia would not be a solution to the problem.

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