Type 2 diabetics dependent on the drug Avandia will no longer be able to fill their prescriptions at local pharmacies thanks to new Food and Drug Administration regulations.
Pharmacists must remove the GlaxoSmithKline drug from retail pharmacy shelves starting November 18, 2011. Research from the FDA indicates the pill causes an increase in heart attack risk. While the raised interest in consumer health is commendable, how will diabetics dependent on the drug continue to maintenance their medical condition?
Many diabetics try several blood-sugar regulating mediations before settling on an effective prescription. For some diabetics, their drug of choice just got harder to obtain.
Both doctors and patients who want to continue prescribing and taking the medication must enroll in the Avandia-rosiglitazone Medicines Access Program, according to a Bloomberg News report on May 18. The new program requires diabetics to buy the drug via mail order. This less convenient option requires planning orders several weeks in advance, payment using a credit or debit card and a reliable mail delivery system.
Rural diabetics who don't receive daily mail deliveries and those who only make purchases with cash are left out in the cold with this new plan. After November 18, retail pharmacy outlets can no longer sell Avandia.
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Comments: 1
In the fall of 1999, the manufacturer secretly began a study comparing its drug with a competitor, Actos, and found that Avandia was no more effective than Actos and had a greater risk of heart problems. A March 29, 2001 e-mail from a company exec states, "Per Sr. Mgmt request, these data should not see the light of day to anyone outside of GSK."
This is just the tip of the iceberg of what went on with Avandia and what goes on in the drug industry. The truth is that what is scheduled to take place next November is how the drug should have been introduced in June 1999, when it entered the market. But then, GSK would not have received the billions of dollars in sales over the intervening decade plus – and tens of thousands of Americans would not have suffered heart attacks and deaths.
The FDA is broken and needs a major repair job. For those in agreement I would urge you to go to www.FDAReformPetition.com and sign up. Congress needs to hear our complaint.