FDA Panel Votes to Keep Avandia on Shelves

Controversial diabetes drug still faces heart-attack link

By Sam Biddle

Posted Jul 30, 2007 5:38 PM CDT

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FDA Panel Votes to Keep Avandia on Shelves — Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach holds up a copy of the Physicians Desk Reference book while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 6, 2007, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the diabetes drug Avandia. (AP Photo/Susan... (Associated Press)

An FDA panel said today that GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug Avandia should remain in drugstores, despite earlier evidence the pill ups heart failure risks. Glaxo has defended its drug, countering that the risks associated with the popular Avandia are the same as those of other diabetes drugs.

"None of these drugs are perfect," said a Glaxo senior VP. The FDA, which is not obliged to follow its panel's advice, has not come to any conclusion about whether the drug will be recalled. It has, however, proposed adding more prominent warning labels and even drawing up a patient registry.

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