DeLauro Urges FDA to Remove Avandia from the Market

Washington, DC— Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) issued the following statement today in reaction to an FDA advisory panel that voted today on the controversial diabetes drug Avandia. The panel voted in favor of restricting the sales of the drug, but not to remove it from the market. A final decision will be made by the FDA at a later date.

"I understand that there may be a lack of consensus on the effects of this drug at the FDA. But the result of the advisory committee vote is gravely disappointing and raises serious questions as to whether the science was presented in an unbiased manner to the committee members. Given the compelling evidence revealed in the weeks leading up to this advisory committee meeting, it is incomprehensible that 20 committee members still would voted to keep Avandia on the market. I intend to ask FDA some serious questions as to whether the advisory committee proceedings were a result of the agency's ongoing internal debate and in some way helped to ensure that Avandia would not be pulled from the market.

"If the FDA is to be a force for change and for returning to the gold standard for safety for which it was once known, then its upcoming decision on whether to pull Avandia from the market will be the defining moment for the agency under the Obama Administration. I urge the FDA to fulfill its mission of protecting the American public and taking this drug off the market, especially considering there are less dangerous alternatives."