Medical Expert to Testify Against Glaxo

By MATTHEW PERRONE

WASHINGTON – The controversy surrounding GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes drug Avandia mounted Wednesday as a medical expert prepared to tell lawmakers the British drug maker threatened him with legal action when he first raised questions about the treatment’s safety.

Dr. John Buse was contacted by Glaxo in 1999 after drawing attention to a trend in heart problems among patients using Avandia, according to testimony he was prepared to give a House committee. Buse says Glaxo representatives mentioned that some in the company wanted to hold him accountable for hurting sales of the drug.

Buse, soon to become president of the American Diabetes Association, said he eventually signed a clarifying statement with the company that was used to ease concerns from investors.

Glaxo’s head of research, Moncef Slaoui, and the head of the Food and Drug Administration will also testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., a frequent critic of FDA and the chair of the oversight committee, announced the hearing after an analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded Avandia could raise patients’ risk of heart attack by more than 40 percent.