June 20, 2007
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The widow and son of a Texas man who was taking a GlaxoSmithKline Plc diabetes drug at the time of his fatal heart attack has sued the drugmaker, claiming that it failed to warn of the drug’s heart risks, according to court papers.
The claim involves rosiglitazon?, which is sold under the brand names Avandia and Advandamet. Investors have been bracing for a flood of litigation against Glaxo after a widely publicized medical report last month suggested that Avandia increases the risk of heart attack and death.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by relatives of Larry Alan Stanford in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Stanford was taking Advandamet, which combines Avandia with another commonly prescribed diabetes medicine.
“Glaxo knew or should have known that its rosiglitazone drug greatly increased plaintiffs’ risks of having a heart attack and/or other negative cardiovascular consequences or of causing sudden cardiac death,” the lawsuit said.