GlaxoSmithKline news stories on Newser

Disgraced Doctors Land at Big Pharma

Kevin Spak — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:59:20 CDT

Pharmaceutical companies say they hire highly respected doctors as their white-coat sales force, peddling their drugs to other physicians. But a Pro Publica investigation has discovered that hundreds of these pitchmen have been accused of professional misconduct, been disciplined by state boards, or lacked credentials. Medical board records in the...

FDA Restricts Diabetes Drug Over Heart Risk

Kevin Spak — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:34:00 CDT

The FDA today put severe restrictions on Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline’s embattled diabetes drug, but stopped short of banning it outright. The once-popular drug will now only be available only as a last resort to type 2 diabetes patients who can’t control their glucose levels with any other medication, the AFP reports....

FDA Panel: Keep Avandia on Market

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:22:24 CDT

A majority of federal health experts has voted to keep the controversial diabetes pill Avandia on the market despite evidence that it increases the risk of heart attack. A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers voted 20-12 against withdrawing GlaxoSmithKline's once-blockbuster drug. The agency is not required to follow...

Avandia Woes Mount Ahead of FDA Hearing

Nick McMaster — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:55:00 CDT

As the FDA prepares to consider whether to ban Avandia, agency scientists have discovered another problem with the diabetes drug: flaws that disqualify a clinical study sponsored by its maker. The trial, organized by GlaxoSmithKline, sought to evaluate the relative heart risks of Avandia and two other diabetes drugs, but...

Diabetes Drug Linked to Heart Woes Again; FDA Weighs Ban

Nick McMaster — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:55:00 CDT

The mountain of evidence against diabetes drug Avandia grew a bit bigger today, with two major studies linking the medication to heart disease and stroke, the LA Times reports. An FDA panel will meet next month to discuss recalling the drug, which has been on the agency's radar at least...

Drug for Enlarged Prostate Cuts Cancer Risk, Too

Kevin Spak — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:31:10 CDT

A drug designed to shrink enlarged prostates may also be able to reduce the risk that at-risk men will develop prostate cancer, according to a new study. The drug dutasteride, sold under the brand name Avodart, was found to reduce the risk of cancer by roughly 25%. Researchers report seeing...

Feds Further Link Avandia to Heart Risk

Polly Davis Doig — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:09:12 CST

Some 800 people every month suffer heart attacks or heart failure because of the diabetes medication Avandia, according to government reports obtained by the New York Times . Under fire since 2007, the GlaxoSmithKline drug was linked to 304 deaths in the final quarter of last year and hundreds of thousands...

Glaxo Offers Free Access to Malaria Research

Rob Quinn — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:48:00 CST

GlaxoSmithKline has opened up its database of compounds with the potential to cure malaria to any scientists who wants to take up the challenge. The move—unheard of in the pharmaceutical industry—comes after company scientists spent a year screening all 2 million compounds in the company's library for those...

Antidepressants Don't Work for 70% of Patients

Kevin Spak — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:43:30 CST

Antidepressants are little better than a placebo for all but the most severe cases of depression, according to a new analysis of recent studies. “For patients with very severe depression, the medication did have a potent effect,” the study’s lead author tells WebMD . But the effects “were pretty small or...