Victoza Public Citizen wants withdrawal of diabetes drug !

A consumer advocacy group is calling on government regulators to withdraw a diabetes drug from Novo Nordisk, saying the injectable medication raises the risk of thyroid cancer, pancreatitis and kidney failure.

"The need for new therapies for Type 2 diabetes is not so urgent that one must tolerate a significant degree of uncertainty regarding serious risk concerns," wrote reviewer Dr. Karen Mahoney, in an agency memo obtained by Public Citizen.

Public Citizen also cites Victoza's association with pancreatitis, reports of which were 3.7-fold higher among patients tested with the drug than those taking other diabetes drugs. In its first 17 months on the market, the FDA received 200 reports of patients diagnosed with pancreatitis, according to a search of FDA databases. Public Citizen estimates only 10 percent of cases are reported to the agency, suggesting there may be as many as 2,000 cases of among patients taking Victoza.


http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9U87BR00.htm