FDA finally gets around to warning that diabetes drug can be deadly

I’ve warned you before about the dangerous diabetes drug Onglyza. I said that it might turn out to be the deadliest drug ever approved for diabetics.

And I’m sorry to say, it’s looking like that’s the case.

Now the FDA is warning you about the risks of Onglyza, too – six years too late.

An FDA advisory panel recently agreed that the drug’s label should carry a warning that it increases your risk of heart failure. One member even voted to ban Onglyza completely.

But the link between Onglyza and heart failure isn’t exactly news. When the FDA approved Onglyza back in 2009, it suspected the drug may damage your heart.

But instead of keeping Onglyza off the market… instead of protecting you… the FDA ordered what’s called “post-marketing” research.

That meant AstraZeneca got to keep selling the drug while conducting a nice, long study – one that just wrapped up in 2013. Even after the study found Onglyza can cause heart failure and increases your overall risk of dying, the FDA called the data “preliminary” and waited two long years to act.

The worst part? Onglyza doesn’t even work that well. Another industry-sponsored study several years ago discovered that it was no better than placebo in helping to keep those with type 2 diabetes from having heart attack and strokes.

And then there was the research done that found Onglyza can damage the pancreas, possibly leading to pancreatic cancer.

Approving Onglyza may end up being one of the worst decisions the FDA has ever made. And unfortunately for everyone with type 2 diabetes, they’re in no hurry to admit the mistake.

Source:

“Safety scare with AstraZeneca’s diabetes drug could shake up the DPP-4 field” Damian Garde, April 10, 2015, FIerceBiotech, fiercebiotech.com