Georgia Avandia: Lawsuits settled

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GlaxoSmithKline Plc agreed to pay about $60 million in the first settlements of lawsuits alleging the company’s Avandia diabetes drug causes heart attacks and strokes in some users.

Avandia has been in the spotlight recently, following reports from various studies linking the drug to cardiovascular complications. The FDA estimates that Avandia treatment caused at least 83,000 heart attacks from 1999 to 2007, and clinical studies have shown that Avandia increases the risk of heart attack by 43 percent and can double the risk of heart failure after only one year of treatment.

At least 13,000 Avandia lawsuits have been filed nationwide, with plaintiffs accusing GlaxoSmithKline of failing to adequately warn patients about the serious risks of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, bone fractures, vision loss, and death associated with the medication.


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