Cochran Firm Wisconsin Legal Blog

When the U.S. Senate released a report late last month about the popular type 2 diabetes drug, Avandia, being linked to tens of thousands of heart attacks, it was really just the latest chapter for the defective drug.

GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Avandia, is alleged to have known that the drug was dangerous to patients who take it. Up until the Food and Drug Administration slapped a black box warning on Avandia in 2007, there were an estimated 80,000 heart attacks, many of them fatal, that are believed directly linked to the drug. It is also alleged that a panel of independent experts voted 8-7 to keep Avandia on the market rather than recall it.

Avandia (rosiglitazone) works by helping diabetes sufferers regulate their natural insulin. It is prescription only and can be taken in addition to insulin. It has been on the market since 2000, but some of the heart attacks tied to the drug occurred in 1999. Almost immediately following Avandia’s release to the market, the Food and Drug Administration required a warning label of potential side effects.
These side effects include:

• Dangerously low blood sugar
• Eye swelling, known as macular edema
• Recurring ovulation in women who have stopped menstruating, but do not use birth control and have not reached menopause
• Hepatitis leading to liver failure
• Congestive heart failure and other cardiovascular problems

Symptoms tied to these side effects include

• Low red blood cell count
• Flu-like symptoms and colds
• Headaches
• Bone fractures

However, it is the heart attacks that have kept Avandia in the news.
If you or a loved one has been injured due to Avandia in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area, please contact the experienced defective drug attorneys at the Cochran Firm Wisconsin for an initial case evaluation.