No decision on controversial diabetes drug

The Ministry of Health is yet to decide if it will join several countries worldwide which have banned the diabetes drug, Avandia.

The health ministry yesterday announced that while it was aware of the recommendation to suspend the use of the drug in Europe, it was still evaluating the technical information available to make a decision as to whether its use should be discontinued in Jamaica.

According to the health ministry, it will advise health professionals and the public once a decision has been made.

The announcement from the health ministry followed the recent disclosure by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) that in a few months the drug would no longer be available to patients in Europe.

The EMA recommended that Avandia be removed from the market due to health concerns. However, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled to keep the drug on the market, with some serious restrictions.

Among the restrictions outlined by the FDA is that it cannot be promoted by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the drug's manufacturer.

Patients currently on the drug will be advised to switch to another similar treatment, if possible.

Doctors cannot prescribe Avandia to new patients without explaining in detail why it might be more likely to cause a heart attack than other options.

According to the FDA, it wants to keep Avandia on the market because patients already taking it might not want to switch drugs mid-regimen.

There has been a flood of lawsuits against GSK, with claimants alleging that tens of thousands of heart attacks and deaths stem from the use of Avandia.