Quoted from http://guardianlv.com/2013/01/gsk-playing-hardball-with-uk-families-over-avandia-litigation/
GSK Playing Hardball With UK Families Over Avandia Litigation
Added by GM on January 30, 2013.
Avandia Patients that have pending litigation in the United Kingdom may not be getting due compensation anytime soon, for those lawsuits against GlaxoSmithKline, (GSK) the manufacturer of the Avandia brand of Rosiglitazone, a diabetes drug discovered to increase risk factors for stroke and heart attacks in diabetics.
A study published in 2007 indicates that Rosiglitazone may increase fatalities from heart disease by as much as 43%.
Products containing Rosiglitazone, like Avandia, were pulled from the market in Europe in September 2010, but continue to be sold in the United States, under specific guidelines put forth by the U.S. FDA.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) made recommendations in September 2010 that the drug be pulled from the European marketplace, and it is no longer sold there.
According to the FDA, Rosiglitazone may have been responsible for over 100,000 heart attacks in the U.S. alone, with no figure currently available for the U.K. or Europe.
GlaxoSmithKline, (GSK) has admitted to hiding evidence indicating the adverse side effects of Avandia, such as increased risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, bone fractures, macular edema, and hepatitis.
GlaxoSmithKline, (GSK) currently has settled over 3 billion dollars in lawsuits in the U.S., with estimates running as high as 6 billion dollars by the time all lawsuits are settled.
Product liability lawsuits in the U.K. are another matter all together.