Diabetes Drug Tied to Heart Risks

May 21, 05:40 PM

Current Headlines: RALEIGH, N.C. _ A new scientific analysis links GlaxoSmithKline's widely prescribed diabetes drug Avandia to greater risk of heart attack and possibly death.

The world's top-selling oral diabetes treatment may raise a patient's chance of having a heart attack and potentially increase the risk of death, researchers said.

The study, released by the New England Journal of Medicine, reflects data from 42 studies involving 15,560 patients who took the drug and 12,283 patients who were given other medications or a placebo. Patients getting Avandia were 43 percent more likely to have a heart attack. The study also suggested a trend toward higher death rates in the Avandia group.

GSK strongly disagreed with the conclusions reached in the article. The British drugmaker said the conclusions are based on incomplete evidence and a methodology that the author admits has significant limitations.

Several large, long-term studies to assess the drug's cardiovascular risk showed that Avandia poses a risk for heart attacks or stroke that is comparable to two other widely prescribed treatments for Type 2 diabetes, Dr. Ronald Krall, GSK's chief medical officer, said in a conference call Monday. More than 38,000 patients were involved in the GSK studies.

Still, the results of the new study cast into doubt the safety of a drug that generated sales of $3 billion last year.

In early afternoon trading, GSK shares were down $3.67 to $54.04.

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