NEW MEXICO DANGEROUS DRUGS – AVANDIA RESEARCHERS TIED TO CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS

According to Bloomberg News, 94% of researchers who found positive results from using Avandia had financial ties to pharmaceutical companies. Avandia is a controversial diabetes drug that has been linked to increased sharp increased risk of heart attack and death.

Despite the FDA’s issuance of a formal safety alert concerning the risks associated with Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline continues to market and sell the drug.

The FDA has now also decided to hold public hearings in July to determine whether Avandia should be removed from the market after scores of lawsuits in New Mexico and across the country have been filed based on the increased risk of a heart attack resulting from Avandia usage, along with several studies showing a substantial correlation.

While reviewing documents in preparation for the hearing, Mayo Clinic researchers noted that an astounding 45% of the researchers who had weighed in on the Avandia controversy had financial conflicts of interest, and about a quarter of those failed to report those conflicts.

As New Mexico personal injury lawyers, we believe Avandia must be removed from the market. Further, GlaxoSmithKline should be held financially and legally accountable for the deaths and serious injuries caused by a drug clearly recognized as dangerous by the FDA.