FDA finds controversial diabetes drug a risk to heart

[GoFlyKiteNow]

FDA finds controversial diabetes drug a risk to heart
Sunday , Feb 21, 2010 at 0307 hrs

Hundreds of people taking Avandia, a controversial diabetes medicine, needlessly suffer heart attacks and heart failure each month, according to confidential government reports that recommend the drug be removed from the market.

The reports, obtained by The New York Times, say that if every diabetic now taking Avandia were instead given a similar pill named Actos, about 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure would be averted every month because Avandia can hurt the heart. Avandia, intended to treat Type 2 diabetes, is known as rosiglitazone and was linked to 304 deaths during the third quarter of 2009.

“Rosiglitazone should be removed from the market,” one of the reports, written by Dr David Graham and Dr Kate Gelperin of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), concludes. Both authors recommended that Avandia be withdrawn.
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Avandia reduces blood glc very welll and can be used for monotherapy and unlike most 1st generation sulfonyureas, Avandia doesn't really have many cases of hypoglycemia. However, the safety aspect is what we have in question.

Avandia already carries a black box warning very similar to how Celebrex (Cox-2) carries one (because of Vioxx many years ago). Question you should ask is if the study was sponsored by Actos (I think it's made by Takeda).