FDA Issues Safety Announcement on Contraceptives Containing Drospirenone

NPR (6/2, Knox) reported that the FDA issued a safety announcement prompted by two recent studies, involving hundreds of thousands of British and American women. The studies cast new doubt on drospirenone-containing pills — sold as Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella and a half-dozen other brand names.” Both “studies, published last month in the British Medical Journal, found a two- to three-fold higher incidence of serious deep-vein blood clots among women taking drospirenone pills compared to those on the older levonorgestrel contraceptives.”   5.31.11 Safety Announcement

SC AG Files Lawsuit Against GSK for Improper Marketing of Diabetes Drug

The Associated Press (6/1/11) reported that South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson filed suit May 17, 2011 against GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), alleging that GSK had improperly marketed the diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) to South Carolina consumers and hid the medication’s harmful side effects.  In his complaint, Wilson argues “that the drugmaker acted negligently when it claimed that Avandia did not put patients’ hearts at risks and could actually reduce the potential for heart problems.”