Are you a type 2 diabetic?
Are you being treated with Avandia, Avandamet, or Avandaryl?
You may be at an increased risk for heart attack, CHF, stroke and liver failure.
Our Avandia injury lawyers are offering free case evaluations to victims of Avandia injuries. Since being introduced in 1999, Avandia has been linked to a variety of serious injuries, including heart attack, stroke and CHF. If you or someone you love suffered from one of these injuries while taking Avandia, you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact one of our Avandia injury lawyers as soon as possible to protect your legal rights.
What is Avandia?
Avandia was the best-selling oral diabetes treatment in the world. 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. Avandia lowers blood sugar levels, which can cause complications including kidney and eye damage, by increasing the body’s sensitivity to insulin.
The FDA approved Avandia in 1999 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, and one that affects more than 20 million Americans. According to the American Diabetes Association, in type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin.
Since approving Avandia in 1999, the FDA has updated the product’s labeling on several occasions to reflect new data that showed patients taking Avandia may suffer Avandia related injuries like heart attack, stroke, CHF and liver failure. The most recent label change was in 2007, when the FDA ordered warnings about a potential increase in heart attacks and heart-related chest pain in some individuals using Avandia.
Avandia Injuries Include Heart Attack and CHF
The Avandia injury lawyers at our firm are also offering case evaluations to victims of Avandia-induced heart attacks and congestive heart failure (CHF). 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.
Dr. Nissen and colleague Kathy Wolski conducted a meta-analytic review of 42 publicly available clinical trials, which examined the effects of Avandia compared to alternative diabetes medications or a placebo. These trials included five studies submitted to the FDA in 1999, over 30 trials registered with Avandia’s maker, GlaxoSmithKline, and two recently published trials. The first of these two latter large-scale studies, the Diabetes Reduction Assessment with Ramipiril and Rosiglitazone Medication (DREAM), was designed to determine if Avandia could prevent type-2 diabetes in high-risk patients. The second study, the Diabetes Outcome Prevention Trial (ADOPT) was intended to evaluate the durability of glycemic control using Avandia.
In the 42 studies examined by Nissen, a total of 86 patients taking Avandia suffered heart attacks, compared to 72 in the control group. Additionally, there were 39 cardiovascular-related deaths in the Avandia group, compared to 22 in the control group. In light of this data, Nissen concluded that, “treatment with [Avandia] was associated with a significant increase in the risk of myocardial infarction and with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes that was of borderline concern.” Thus, Avandia, used by millions of Americans, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of life-threatening side-effects.
In August 2007, the FDA finally approved a black box warning – the agency’s strictest safety notice – for Avandia about its link to heart attacks.
In August 2007, the FDA also approved a black box warning for Avandia about its association with congestive heart failure (CHF). The new warning said that patients with the most severe forms of heart failure should not take the drug.
Avandia and Liver Failure
The Avandia injury lawyers at our firm are currently investigating potential lawsuits against GlaxoSmithKline on behalf of victims of Avandia-induced liver failure. 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.
Legal Help for Victims of Avandia Injuries
The Avandia injury lawyers at our firm are committed to making sure that GlaxoSmithKline is held accountable for failing to adequately test this medication.
If you or someone you love suffered from heart attack, stroke, CHF or liver failure as a result of Avandia, you have valuable legal rights. Please fill out our online form or call 1 800 99 POTTS (1-800-997-6887) as soon as possible to discuss your case with one of our Avandia injury lawyers.
Latest Avandia Injury News
On Nov. 14, 2007, FDA announced that the manufacturer of Avandia (rosiglitazone) has agreed to add new information about potential increased risk for heart attacks to the existing boxed warning. This action follows recommendations made at the July 2007 joint meeting between FDA’s Endocrine and Metabolic Drugs and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committees. [...]
Are you a type 2 diabetic? Are you being treated with Avandia, Avandamet, or Avandaryl? You may be at an increased risk for heart attack, CHF, stroke and liver failure. Our Avandia injury lawyers are offering free case evaluations to victims of Avandia injuries. Since being introduced in 1999, Avandia has been linked to a [...]
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