Is Actos, another diabetes drug, also unsafe

Avandia, the GlaxoSmithKline drug that has been under intense scrutiny in the media for several months following disputes over its safety, might not be the only major diabetes drug facing questions. The drug’s rocky road is damaging company profits.
Rumours in America are that the Food and Drug Administration could also ask questions over the safety of Actos. Actos works in a similar way to Avandia, and is one of the drug’s main competitors. Actos is manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceuticals.
Actos is the subject of an FDA advisory committee meeting about the safety of thiazolidinediones, one class of drugs for diabetics. The FDA, perhaps seeking to downplay media speculatio, reportedly commented: “An important part of the context is that there are risks of all diabetic drugs.”
Actos is a significant part of the Takeda annual profit. In response to the Avandia controversy, Actos actually initially benefited. A spokesman for Takeda, Matt Kuh, reportedly commented: “Takeda thinks it’s appropriate to reserve comment until after Monday, when many important questions will be posed and discussion will occur by the FDA and leading diabetes experts.”