FDA panel votes to keep Avandia on the market

Despite new data suggesting it poses health risks, an FDA advisory panel voted yesterday to keep diabetes drug Avandia on the market. Several members of the panel argued studies citing its risks weren't conclusive enough to justify pulling the drug off the market. The panel did suggest, however, that the FDA should require drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline to add tough warnings to the drug's label.

Avandia has been the subject of controversy since May, when The New England Journal of Medicine published a study contending the  drug increases heart attack risk. The study helped spur a drastic drop in sales of the drug. The company reported sales of $3.4 billion for the drug last year. About 1 million patients in the U.S. took Avandia last year.

To learn more about the panel's decision:
- read this article from The New York Times

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