GlaxoSmithKline goes on the defensive after Avandia is cited for potential risk of heart disease

Aug. 4, 2007 - PRLog -- July 31, 2007 – A federal advisor to the FDA put on GlaxoSmithKline on the defense saying that Avandia, the top selling diabetes pill in the world, should be pulled from the shelves. 7 million people have taken Avandia and now that Avandia is being cited as a heart disease risk, sales could fall quickly.

A study released by Glaxo claims that Avandia is completely safe when compared side by side to other drugs used to treat diabetes. Actos is another popular drug for treating those who have diabetes, but was left out of Glaxo’s studies. Takeda is another company that has actually compared the two drugs, Actos and Avandia and they found that Actos presented a lower risk to people using the drugs.

What will be interesting for investors is whether this latest scare will affect stock prices. We will surely see the results on Wall Street over the next few days and maybe even weeks. The FDA has made increased measures to appear transparent to the public, but it can be said that many Americans don’t fully trust the FDA and claim that it is an organization susceptible to lobbying and corruption.

When you look at the tobacco industry, it’s easy to see why these citizens may be concerned. Government agencies tend to get the bulk of the bad coverage, but many times it may be for good reason. GlaxoSmithKline claims that including Actos in it’s comparison studies would limit their analysis, but now, under new pressure to please shareholders, Glaxo is preparing to fund a new study that includes Actos and gives it a fair amount of consideration, although Glaxo prematurely insist that Avandia is completely safe.

High scrutiny is nothing new for the pharmaceutical industry, but many times, little penalty is distributed to the major players. According to the FDA panel of advisors, Glaxo does not have enough evidence as it stands in order to demonstrate that their drug is safe. The first negative press for Avandia was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and since then, Avandia sales have dropped by about 20%.

Micah Carter
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