Takeda diabetes drug remains healthy

Following FDA (Food and Drug Administration) reviews about the diabetes pills Avandia and Actos, sales of the latter remain healthy, holding its own in the market despite controversy.
Actos, which is sold by company Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc, is written as a prescription to some 20 per cent of new diabetes patients. The results were gleaned from analysis by the pharmaceutical research firm Impact RX Inc.
The results indicated that less than five per cent of doctors started their patients on Avandia, the Glaxo drug that has faced stiff controversy in the media due to its links with an increased risk of heart disease . The media furore accounts for damaged avandia standing.
The senior vice president of Impact RX, Patrick Angelsastro, reportedly commented: “The fact that Avandia was not pulled was not necessarily a bad thing for Actos. It looks like Actos is not getting hurt a whole lot by a presumed class effect.”