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The UK’s biggest drugmaker, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, has agreed to settle more than 700 lawsuits related to a diabetes drug, which will cost it about $60 million (£39.2m).
The lawsuits allege that Glaxo’s Avandia diabetes drug can cause some patients to have strokes or heart attacks.
The 700 settlements have been brought by three attorneys, according to sources, and come at a time when the company is already facing 4,000 lawsuits and a trial in Philadelphia over the drug.
Officials at Glaxo have declined to comment and the company is still preparing for trials, set to take place later this year. Officials argue that users of the drug who have had heart attacks cannot link them to the drug, and they say all users were warned of the risks.
Avandia went on sale in America after being approved by regulators in 1999. It is now being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration, which will present findings to an advisory committee in July.
Copyright Press Association 2010
GlaxoSmithKline
