Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Avandia update

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that U.S. doctors have been "shunning" Glaxo Smith Kline's blockbuster diabetes drug Avandia since last week's New England Journal of Medicine study indicating that Avadia carries a higher heart attack risk than other diabetes drugs. The Times of London reports that Analyst Peter Cartwright at Evolution Securities said: “Our guess that [UK] patients already taking Avandia won’t switch, because of the risks involved, but in places like the US, particularly because they are so litigious, we expect to see a sharp fall in new prescriptions." Glaxo has been mounting a spirited defense, but it appears to have been taken by surprise. Meanwhile, Glaxo's stock price has "nose dived."

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