Glaxo Maintains Profit Outlook Despite Avandia Concerns

Article in the Wall Street Journal -- Glaxo, Set Back By Diabetes Drug, Sticks to Forecast, by Elena Berton.  Here's an excerpt:

Sales for the Avandia family of drugs, which also include combination products Avandamet and Avandaryl, fell 22% to £349 million. Avandia has been hit by concerns about possible cardiovascular side effects linked to the drug. The company has mounted a robust defense of its second best-selling product, releasing data from studies that appear to back Avandia's safety.

A Food and Drug Administration panel of experts is scheduled to meet next week to decide whether Avandia should remain on the market and, if so, whether its use should be further restricted. Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Garnier said Glaxo has submitted to the U.S. regulator new data from an epidemiology study on 400,000 diabetes patients, which supports the safety of the drug.

BGS