Avandia
Avandia has been linked to a variety of serious side effects, including fatal liver failure and cardiovascular problems
Avandia was introduced in 1999. Since that time Avandia has been linked to a variety of serious side effects, including fatal liver failure and cardiovascular problems.
At its peak in 2006, 13.2 million people had taken Avandia. But by 2008, concerns over side effects had caused that number to fall to 4.6 million. In October 2008, safety worries prompted the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes to unanimously advise against using Avandia. Still, an estimated 10,000 prescriptions are written for Avandia in the U.S. every day.
In May 2007, a Cleveland Clinic study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients taking Avandia had a 43-percent higher risk of having a heart attack. The study created a firestorm, and many called for Avandia to be recalled at that time. That summer, Glaxo and the FDA came under fire for an apparent failure to warn the public about the cardiac risks associated with Avandia. Testimony at a congressional hearing in June 2007 revealed that the company and the FDA had known about the heart attack risk as far back as September 2005. That congressional investigation also uncovered allegations that in 2005, an FDA scientist who had advocated for a strong black box warning on Avandia about its risk for congestive heart failure had been removed from an Avandia safety review.
In October 2008, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen petitioned the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to remove Avandia from the U.S. market because of its association with liver failure. Public Citizen petitioned the FDA after the group identified 14 cases of Avandia-induced liver failure, including 12 deaths. These cases were derived from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System after Public Citizen reviewed the agency’s MedWatch forms, which are submitted to the agency when adverse drug reactions are suspected. Public Citizen's petition pointed out that potentially fatal liver failure was just one of many problems associated with Avandia. The group said in a press release that the drug increases the risk of heart attack approximately 40 percent, doubles the risk of heart failure and bone fractures, and increases the risk of anemia and vision loss from macular edema, a swelling of the retina caused by fluids accumulating in the eye.
Considering the unacceptably high number of dangerous side effects associated with Avandia, it is clear that this drug was not subject to adequate testing.
We are currently evaluating cases involving patients who have suffered Congestive Heart Failure, Myocardial Infarction (heart attack) or Death resulting from Avandia use.
Contact an Alabama personal injury lawyer at Taylor Martino Zarzaur for a free initial consultation to review your case.
Taylor Martino Zarzaur serves clients along the entire Gulf Coast, including Mobile, Pensacola, Montgomery, Orange Beach, Gulf Shores and Baldwin County, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
