GSK Is Again Defending Avandia

GlaxoSmithKline is again defending the safety of its diabetes drug Avandia. Last week, a Senate Finance Committee report concluded that GSK knew about the cardiovascular risks of Avandia for years and had tried to intimidate doctors and downplay studies in order to keep the drug on the market. Avandia’s safety was first questioned in 2007 by Steve Nissen, a prominent cardiologist who conducted a meta-analysis of clinical trials and found the drug significantly raised the risk of cardiovascular events. GSK says the scientific evidence does not support the safety concerns and that the Senate report “cherry-picks information.”