Controversial diabetes drug Avandia does increase the risk of heart problems, a key panel of experts charged with deciding whether to pull the drug from the US markets said Wednesday.
Nineteen of the 33 members on the panel convened by the Food and Drug Administration voted to endorse a finding that the drug produced by GlaxoSmithKline does increase the risk of heart attack or stroke in users.
After two days of hearings, the panel is expected to rule shortly on whether Avandia should be pulled from the market because it increases the risk cardiovascular problems more than other similar drugs already on sale.
On Tuesday, two senators revealed information showing some of Glaxo's own studies had linked the drug to serious side-effects but the company opted not to publicly release the findings.
The FDA is not required to follow the recommendations of the panel, but usually does. A decision to pull the drug from the US market would be a serious blow to Glaxo, Britain's biggest pharmaceutical company.
The drug earned some 1.2 billion dollars in 2009, but comes with the FDA's strongest warning about potential side-effects.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
