July 20th, 2010
Avandia Panelist Received Money from GSK
Larry Husten, PHD
One of the voting members of last week’s controversial Avandia panel received speaking fees from GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Avandia, according to news reports in the Wall Street Journal and Pharmalot. The FDA had previously said that there were no relevant conflicts for any of the 33 voting members of the panel. David Capuzzi, an endocrinologist at Thomas Jefferson University, was paid by GSK to speak about Lovaza, GSK’s omega-3 pill, but said he didn’t believe that the FDA considered this to be a conflict of interest. Capuzzi was one of only three panel members who voted in favor of keeping Avandia (rosiglitazone) on the market with no additional restrictions.