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Diabetes drugs with rosiglitazone are now available only through certified mail-order pharmacies. Doctors wishing to prescribe the drugs and patients planning to continue taking them should enroll in GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia Rosiglitazone Medicines Access Program. As of November 18, Avandia (rosiglitazone maleate), Avandamet (rosiglitazone maleate and metformin hydrochloride), and Avandaryl (rosiglitazone maleate and glimepiride) will no longer be available from retail pharmacies. Last year, the FDA insisted that GSK implement a stringent restricted-access program for the drugs after a meta-analysis of 52 studies showed that the drug is associated with a significantly increased risk of MI. The restricted-access program confines rosiglitazone prescriptions to patients who failed to control their blood glucose levels with other drugs and have decided, in consultation with their doctor, not to take pioglitazone. |
