GSK Avandia Now Linked to Male/Female Bone Risk
Following recent claims that GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes treatment Avandia could induce cardiovascular problems in its users, a new report now links the drug to bone fractures in both men and women. GlaxoSmithKline have stated, in response to this, that the findings are of limited significance.
The report, which was published in the Diabetes Care journal, is the first of its kind to state both sexes could be affected by Avandia; as a previous major study focused on women only. It stated that, in those people taking Avandia, a prominent decrease in bone mineral density had been recorded. The previous report was issued at the end of 2006, one of several commenting on a perceived bone risk associated with the blockbuster drug.
Any connection Avandia may have with bones was overshadowed when, two months ago, the New England Journal’s hugely-publicised article claimed it was strongly associated with an increased risk of heart attacks. As a consequence of that report, prescriptions for Avandia plunged on a downward spiral.
Analysts from the investment bank, Morgan Stanley, have commented on this new finding. They describe it as an incremental negative – compounding with the results of previous trials. The result could be that Avandia’s label is reworded to emphasise its risk to bone structure.
GlaxoSmithKline, however, urged that that the new findings should not be over-assessed. An unidentified spokesman has provided an emailed statement, in which he says: "The findings of this study are limited as it involves very low patient numbers and, as a retrospective study, it is not possible to draw meaningful comparisons nor rule out confounding factors, such as age and duration of diabetes."
Source - Pharmaceutical International's External Contributor
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