posted by on Jul 31
Avandia Settlement Reaches $460 Million
GlaxoSmithKline PLC will pay $460 million in an Avandia settlement following the Avandia lawsuits filed this year. Around 13,000 suits claimed the drug company failed to warn its customers that Avandia posed risks for heart attacks in people taking the drug. Avandia is a diabetes drug, which allegedly causes heart attacks. GlaxoSmithKline is the UK’s biggest drug maker, and will settle about 10,000 of the 13,000 cases against it.
Avandia is a drug manufactured to treat Type 2 Diabetes, but the FDA had recommended it be removed from the shelves due to risk of heart attacks and heart failure. There is a safer alternative, called Actos. It is believed that Avandia was responsible for 300 deaths in the last three months of 2009.
Avandia class action lawsuits allege that GlaxoSmithKline hid the fact that Avandia posed a heart attack risk. The average Avandia settlement is $46,000.
The first round of Avandia settlements occurred in May, when they paid $60 million to settle about 700 cases. Drugmakers often settle to save time and money. Plaintiffs claim they suffered needlessly, after taking Avandia. A growing body of reports causes skepticism over the drug’s safety.
$3.5 billion has been set aside by GlaxoSmithKline for Avandia settlement and litigation costs. They will continue to settle many cases out of court, but not all of them. The first Avandia case will go to trial this Fall in Philadelphia. All suits claim GlaxoSmithKline suppressed information about the health risks posed by their drug to people taking it to treat their diabetes.