Sanders Firm - Wednesday, February 03, 2010 - Press Release

Pharmaceutical Giant GlaxoSmithKline to Suffer More Setbacks in Avandia Battle.

February 3, 2010 -- Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) is about to suffer more setbacks in the ongoing battle of opinions concerning the safety of its much touted diabetes drug Avandia. The American Diabetes Association has accepted for publication in its prestigious medical journal, Diabetes Care, a study by Harvard researchers that shows users of the diabetes drug Avandia have more than double the risk of a heart attack compared to other diabetes drugs. Further, a jointly sponsored study by both GlaxoSmithKline and i3 Drug Safety, an independent drug-safety firm, will appear in the journal Clinical Therapeutics showing that Avandia users have a 35-41% increased risk of a heart attack over users of Actos, Avandia's main competitor.

These findings are the latest in a series of published studies that indicate Avandia users are at an unacceptably increased risk of a heart attack. In 2007, the Food and Drug Administration required a "Black Box" warning be added to Avandia's label about the heart risks associated with drug, but allowed the product to remain on the market even though numerous Endocrinologists and other diabetes experts called for its removal from the market like the other ill-fated drugs Vioxx and Rezulin.

The Harvard group analyzed clinical care data taken from the electronic medical records of patients at several Boston area hospitals and clinics associated with Harvard Medical School. All 26,375 patients records reviewed included a diagnosis of Diabetes and the use of at least one oral diabetic medication used between years 2000 and 2006. The researchers then reviewed the records for all patients who suffered "Myocardial Infarction" or heart attack. The incidence of heart attack was more than double for Avandia compared to its competitor Actos. The researchers chose Avandia to confirm their methodology because of its known "...relative adverse cardiovascular risk profile..." The GlaxoSmithKline-i3 study analyzed health-insurance data from July of 2000 through March of 2007 for 2 groups of 47,501 subjects each; one group using Avandia and the other Actos.

Almost 13,000 former Avandia users who have suffered heart attacks and other significant injuries have filed claims against GlaxoSmithKline in both Federal and State courts. Marc Grossman, a New York attorney who represents hundreds of former Avandia users in Federal Court in Philadelphia, states "This study adds to the overwhelming evidence that Avandia causes heart attacks in an already vulnerable population and it further confirms the basis of these lawsuits. It's a stark example of the viral corporate greed that has infected the Pharmaceutical industry and I demand that the company act in the public's best interest and remove the drug from the market."

The Sanders Firm is a National Law Firm and has recovered over $500 Million for its clients, including thousands of victims of defective drugs and products. For further information or press inquiries, please contact Marc Grossman at 1-800-FAIR-PLAY or via email at mgrossman@thesandersfirm.com or visit us at www.thesandersfirm.com.