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A doctor who sat on an advisory panel into Avandia had been paid to speak on behalf of another drug made by its manufacturers in the past, it has been reported.
The US Food and Drug Administration has called for the Department of Health and Human Sciences to investigate whether David Capuzzi had a conflict of interest, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The report claims the endocrinologist was paid $14,000 from GlaxoSmithKline to speak on behalf of another drug Lovaza.
The doctor had told the FDA about his links to the drug maker and the body said it had checked all panel members for conflicts, the newspaper reported.
The debate on Avandia’s safety has raged since warnings were placed on the drug in 2007 saying some research shows a link with a higher heart attack risk but the data is “inconclusive.”
GlaxoSmithKline agreed earlier this month to pay $460 million to settle thousands of lawsuits over the treatment.
Health officials, meanwhile, have halted enrollment of new patients in a clinical trial of GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s diabetes pill Avandia while regulators consider if the drug should stay on the market.
Copyright Press Association 2010
