With GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) currently battling a governmental lawsuit in the US over the production and marketing of Avandia, a drug for diabetes, it is little wonder that some members of the public have become disillusioned with the pharmaceutical industry.
A report by the Senate Finance Committee has stated that GSK knew Avandia was linked to thousands of heart attacks but despite this, hid the information from the public and attempted to intimidate doctors and researchers that questioned the drugs safety.
According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, patients who took Avandia were 43% more likely to have cardiovascular problems. In addition, the current report by the Senate Finance Committee has stated that by taking an alternative “safer” drug, 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure every month in the US would have been prevented.
Naturally, this case highlights the duty that pharmaceutical and healthcare companies have to warn patients about potential side-effects and adverse reactions. At the same time, this appears to suggest that some organisations are prepared to go to considerable lengths in order to boost their profits.
(The Wall Street Journal; Natural News)
This article was original published in Homeopathy Health Medicine in April 2010. This is a free newsletter published by the ARH, and available at http://www.a-r-h.org/publications.htm
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