November 25th, 2008

Reports the Philadelphia Inquirer:

“Older patients taking GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C.’s diabetes drug Avandia had an increased risk of death and heart failure compared with similar patients taking Actos, a competing diabetes drug.

The study of about 28,000 patients, all of them older than 65, also concluded that neither drug should be considered very safe.

The study, published yesterday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was based on Medicare claims data from patients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Those who took Avandia had a 15 percent higher rate of death and a 13 percent greater risk of heart failure compared with those taking Actos, made by Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc.

…

Rosiglitazone is the generic name for Avandia, pioglitazone for Actos. Avandia has been under intense scrutiny since May, when a New England Journal of Medicine study concluded that the drug increased the risk of cardiovascular problems in those who took it.”

Visit the Inquirer for more details about the study.