Dangerous Diabetes Drugs
Victoza Complications
Victoza is a once daily, injectable medication used to treat type 2 diabetes by increasing the amount of insulin the body produces. The drug’s name is liraglutide, and it belongs to the GLP-1 agonist class of drugs. Manufactured by Novo Nordisk, it was approved by the FDA in 2010. There has been a lot of…
GLP-1 Drugs Fail to Show Cardiovascular Benefits
A large clinical study that incretin mimetic drugmakers hoped would increase their sales has failed. Incretin mimetics, also called GLP-1 therapy, is a type of diabetes treatment. The subject of this particular study was Onglyza, manufactured by AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb. The study tested whether Onglyza reduced heart attacks and other cardiovascular events, but it…
Doctor and Scientist Has Major Concerns about Januvia
Several years ago, drug giant Merck pursued chief of endocrinology Dr. Peter Butler to study its diabetes treatment Januvia. They wanted the support and endorsement of the famous doctor who was once the editor of the American Diabetes Association’s journal Diabetes. For some time the doctor resisted, but finally he gave in and began the…
FDA Recommendations Regarding Januvia
In September of 2009, the FDA revised Januvia’s label to reflect the number of reported cases of pancreatitis. The FDA recommended that doctors carefully monitor their patients for symptoms of the disease after starting a patient on the drug, or after increasing dosage. They also caution that there has been no research done on…
Januvia and Pancreatic Cancer
Januvia is a medication used to lower blood sugar levels in patients with Type 2 Diabetes. It is intended to be used along with diet and exercise. The control of high blood sugar is important to prevent kidney damage, blindness, nerve damage, loss of limbs, and sexual function problems. Januvia works by increasing levels…
The FDA’s Actos Warnings
The FDA has looked into the side effects of Actos several times, and though they have required the manufacturer to update its label, Actos still remains on the market. However, because patients who have suffered are standing up and forcing Takeda and Eli Lilly to be held accountable, the once hidden side effects of…
Avandia and Actos Linked to Macular Edema
Avandia and Actos both belong to the same class of Type 2 Diabetes treatments: Thiazolidinediones. Avandia has been the subject of intense scrutiny after it came to light that it can cause serious cardiovascular side effects. The FDA has severely restricted the use of Avandia. Actos has also had its share of complications, being linked…
A Timeline of FDA Safety Communications Regarding GLP-1 Drugs
October 2007: The FDA reviewed 30 post-marketing reports of acute pancreatitis in users of Byetta. The FDA concluded that there was an association between Byetta and acute pancreatitis. Byetta’s manufacturer Amylin Pharmaceuticals agreed to include information regarding this risk in the precautions section of its label. The FDA also instructed patients that severe abdominal pain…
Actos and Bladder Cancer
Actos is a treatment for Type 2 diabetes that is in a class of drugs called Thiazolidinediones. Actos lowers the amount of sugar released by the liver and makes fat cells more sensitive to the effects of insulin. Avandia, Actos’s sister drug in this same class, became a blockbuster drug before serious heart problems were…
