Diabetes Drug Actos Looking to Rival Avandia

Amy Schauers

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Just days after the FDA hit the diabetes drug Avandia with new safety warnings the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline PLC, makers of Avandia, decided to take out full-page ads to run in 60 newspapers and in several magazines. The main messages is as follows:

"If you have type 2 diabetes, Actos has been shown to lower blood sugar without increasing your risk of having a heart attack or stroke," according to a copy of the ad provided by Takeda.

The FDA also said it would ask makers of other diabetes drugs, including Takeda maker of Actos, to put on their labels that their drugs haven't been proven to reduce cardiovascular risk. Takeda is trying to turn this into a positive by telling customers that Actos at least doesn't increase their risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Before concerns about Avandia arose the two drugs were selling at nearly the same rate.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Drugs, Medical Devices, and Implants.

Editorial note- Actos is owned by Takeda Pharmaceuticals.