The U.S. FDA has lifted certain restrictions on prescribing and use of the diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) to reflect new information regarding the cardiovascular risk of the medicine.
Results from the Rosiglitazone Evaluated for Cardiovascular Outcomes and Regulation of Glycemia in Diabetes (RECORD) clinical trial showed no elevated risk of heart attack or death in patients being treated with Avandia when compared to standard-of-care diabetes drugs. These data do not confirm the signal of increased risk of heart attacks that was found in a meta-analysis of clinical trials first reported in 2007.
The FDA’s actions include requiring modifications to labeling about cardiovascular safety, requiring changes to the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program, and releasing a postmarket study requirement.
Once the changes are final, rosiglitazone’s indication for use will no longer be limited to certain patients. The FDA anticipates that the new indication will state that the drug may be used along with diet and exercise to improve control of blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, an indication similar to other diabetes drugs currently available.
Once the changes to the REMS are finalized, health care professionals, pharmacists, and patients will no longer be required to enroll in the rosiglitazone REMS program to prescribe, dispense, or receive rosiglitazone medicines. Patients will also be able to receive rosiglitazone through regular retail pharmacies and mail order pharmacies.
The manufacturers of rosiglitazone drugs will be required to ensure that health care providers who are likely to prescribe rosiglitazone-containing medicines are provided training based on the current state of knowledge concerning the cardiovascular risk of these medicines.
The FDA is also releasing GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from the postmarket requirement to conduct a clinical trial, known as Thiazolidinedione Intervention with Vitamin D Evaluation (TIDE), comparing Avandia to Actos (pioglitazone), the only other approved drug in the thiazolidinedione class, and to standard diabetes drugs. The FDA has concluded that this trial is no longer necessary or feasible.
