Avandia News
Diabetes patients sue GSK: Lawsuit claims company suppressed data about diabetes drug's negative effects
-LawyersandSettlements
07/08/2008- Two North Carolina patients have sued GlaxoSmithKline, claiming that the drug maker's diabetes pill, Avandia, caused their heart attacks.
Mary Massey, 51, of Hope Mills and Era Gordon, 70, of Hertford are among hundreds of diabetes patients seeking compensation for health problems they experienced after taking Avandia.
The patients blame GSK for failing to adequately warn them of the pill's cardiovascular risks.
GSK "knew of these dangerous effects in Avandia from the many trials which they performed and to which they had access and from their own analysis of these studies," the lawsuit reads. "But [the company] took no action to adequately warn or remedy the defects, but instead concealed, suppressed and failed to disclose these dangers."
A study published in May 2007 by the New England Journal of Medicine revealed data that linked Avandia to an increased risk of heart attack. Since then, Avandia prescriptions have dropped by more than 50 percent. The drug generated about $3 billion in worldwide sales in 2006.
Lawyers immediately began soliciting clients among the estimated 18 million diabetes patients in the U.S.; the first lawsuits were filed within a month. Thousands more were expected to follow.
The Miller Firm, the Alexandria, Va., which represents Massey and Gordon, has filed more than 200 lawsuits so far, said Brandon Evans, one of the firm's lawyers.
GSK, which has a U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park, said it stands by Avandia and is prepared to challenge each lawsuit.
Avandia, which has been on the market since 1999, has long carried warnings of its cardiovascular side effects, such as an increased risk for congestive heart failure. GSK has been aware of data raising concerns about Avandia's heart attack risks since at least 2004. The drug maker posted the data on its Web site and submitted it to the Food and Drug Administration shortly after.
"We are confident that the body of scientific evidence supports the safety of Avandia and that when courts and juries examine the actual clinical data, the manner in which we communicated with the FDA and physicians, and our openness in posting studies on our Web site, the facts will support our position," GSK's statement read.
But the heart attack risk wasnot mentioned in Avandia's packaging information until November.
The FDA raised existing warnings about congestive heart failure after the New England Journal's publication triggered a congressional inquiry.
Two patients' claims
The lawsuit filed by Massey and Gordon claims that doctors and patients didn't have the information they needed to assess Avandia's risks.
Indeed, the lawsuit claims that GSK sales representatives minimized the drug's side effects.
Massey took Avandia from April 2006 until she was admitted to the hospital because of a heart attack in February 2007, the lawsuit claims. She has since developed congestive heart failure.
Gordon took the medication from 2000 to 2007, according to the lawsuit. In 2002, she had a heart attack and required triple bypass surgery.
The lawsuit was filed in Durham County but has since been moved to federal court in Greensboro.
If you or a loved one have experienced an Avandia heart attack, or Avandia stroke, Avandia congestive heart failure, Avandia cardiovascular disease or if you have lost a loved one to an Avandia death you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the Avandia attorneys of Ennis & Ennis today for a free confidential case evaluation. Our on staff nurse and lawyers are standing by to answer any questions you may have regarding Avandia's side effects, a possible Avandia class action lawsuit, or any other type of Avandia litigation.
