Avandia Under Fire Again

Chrissie Cole

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GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) type2 diabetes drug Avandia, is once again the center of controversy after new research claims that using the drug increases the risk of heart attack.

A research paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) discovered that patient's who take Avandia, were 42 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack then those that were in the control group, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Research compiled from four different clinical trials of Avandia, over the duration of a year, confirms earlier studies and suggests the use of Avandia increases cardiological risk.

A separate paper, also published by JAMA, concluded that Actos (a rival diabetes drug from Takeda Pharmaceuticals) appeared to reduce the risk of heart attack. However, the studies did not directly compare Avandia and Actos.

In July, an advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that Avandia was tied to a risk of heart attacks but did not recommend the drug be withdrawn.

However, the FDA approved new "black box" warning labels for the drug to emphasis that it may trigger congestive heart failure and that patients should be monitored closely by their doctor.

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