Jul/31/2007 10:25 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
The
FDA called an advisory board to review the safety
of Avandia and when it was all over patients lost
and big business won. By saying there isn't
enough data they essentially are telling patients
"you decide if you want to take the risk". Even a
leading physician, interviewed on NBC Nightly
News, didn't know what to recommend to his
diabetic patients. So new warnings will be
included on the label of Avandia and the drug
industry has lost another chance to gain consumer
trust. Read
More...
Tags: Avandia
Jul/29/2007 07:03 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
Think
that the Internet has not played a role in the
decline in sales of Avandia? Think again. I had
the chance to talk to three physicians last week
about Avandia and they have switched all their
diabetes patients from Avandia to other
medications. As one physician told me "why take a
chance with my patients health?".
Read
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Tags: Avandia
Jun/13/2007 02:05 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
Well it take
long for me to get some eMail on my last post.
Thank you for responding and raising some great
issues, but for a moment put yourself in a
patients shoes. You are a Type 2 diabetic doing
well on Avandia and really don't want to switch
to another medication. As a patient what I would
want to know is; what are the risks of a heart
attack on Avandia, and what are my risks for a
heart attack on Avandia? I would want to know the
percentage of patients in ongoing clinical trials
that had issues and if these issues were due to
the medication or other risk factors including
weight, family history of heart disease and high
cholesterol. So the questions remain for GSK and
the FDA to answer. Read
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Tags: Avandia
Jun/13/2007 06:08 Filed in:
In The
News
What do sperm
and lawyers have in common? One in ten million
has a chance of becoming a human being. The legal
profession overlooks no opportunity to chase an
ambulance and make a few dollars. The latest? A
class actions suit by investors against GSK
alleging the drug company misled investors about
the safety of diabetes drug Avandia, a step
investors have taken in past drug-safety
disputes. This of course while there is still
dispute over the what the data actually says but
no matter lawyers are already recruiting patients
from TV ads for class action against GSK.
Read
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Tags: Avandia
Jun/12/2007 06:05 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
A while back we
conducted two days of research with people who
have diabetes. The subject of credibility seemed
to come up again and again when discussing their
informational needs to help them decide on
treatment options. It comes down to this: people
want clear and concise information on the
product, its side effects and want promotional
information to be separated from medical
information. (DUH!) Well as the battle over
Avandia, and now Actos, intensifies some
publications are theorizing that GSK may have
manipulated data to meet marketing objectives.
From an editorial in today's New York
Times:
One disturbing possibility is that Glaxo has
designed tests that have the effect of meeting
the company’s marketing objectives while
minimizing risks. The F.D.A. may have allowed
itself to be outmaneuvered, approving designs
that won’t fully answer key safety
questions.
Read
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Tags: Avandia
Jun/07/2007 06:55 Filed in:
In The
News
What a mess !
That's the only way to think of the black box
warnings that were added to Avandia and Actos.
The hearings yesterday resembled a circus with
finger pointing and clear lines of difference
between Democrats and Republicans on the data
that was first reported in the NEJM. What are
physicians and patients supposed to think? Is the
data telling us the glass is half full or half
empty? Rather than utilizing the opinions of
third parties, namely physicians who have no
vested interest in the product, politicians took
it among themselves to interpret data
mispronouncing words along the way. This is what
happens when politics is mixed with science and
this is going to have broad implications for
patients and the pharmaceutical industry for
years to come. Read
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Tags: Avandia
Jun/06/2007 06:47 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
Well the finger
pointing continues with the Avandia data with
continued media coverage most recently on the
front page of today's New York Times. While some
doctors are taking a 'wait and see" attitude it
seems that GSK has already started to feel the
effects of this story with declining sales.
Meanwhile what are patients expected to think?
Accusations and counter accusations are flying
back and forth which has done little to make
patients comfortable with treatment for Type II
diabetes. Read
More...
Tags: Avandia
May/29/2007 04:56 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
Every so often
someone becomes the voice of reason in a crazy
world. The latest example was Dr gottlieb's
letter in Tuesday's Wall Steet Journal that
questions the journals release of an article
questioning the data on Avandia. As he writes
"Unfortunately,
major medical journals that should be filling
this role often put more weight on pushing
political agendas. Their editorial prejudice has
left a troubling void for rigorous and unbiased
arbiters of medical evidence who can guide sound
medical practice decisions.
Wow
! But wait there is a lot more here..
Read
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Tags: Avandia
