In a clear response to the recent "black box" label designation for Avandia, the makers of another drug commonly used to treat Type 2 diabetes have begun a large advertising campaign promoting the drug's safety. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., which makes popular diabetes drug Actos, is now running full-page advertisements in newspapers noting that the drug lowers blood sugar "without increasing your risk of having a heart attack or stroke."
As such things go, Takeda has actually shown some restraint, as Avandia has been under serious fire for quite some time. Questions over Avandia's safety have been surfacing for years, but it took the biggest hit earlier this year, when a journal article claimed that it pushed up the risk of heart attack in diabetics by 43 percent.
To learn more about the campaign:
- read this Medical News Today article
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