Death Toll from French Drug Similar to Avandia Surpasses 2,000

Paris, FranceThe French Health Ministry has launched an investigation into the deaths of potentially more than 2,000 people who took a diabetes drug similar to Avandia, Forbes.com reports.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Last month, when the French news agency Le Figaro broke the story about the Type 2 diabetes drug Mediator, 500 people were estimated to have died. The drug had been on the market since 1976 and was finally pulled in 2009 after more than 5 million French people had taken it, according to the news provider.

The Mediator case is similar to that of GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug Avandia. In September, the FDA restricted the drug's use and the European Medicines Agency decided to completely suspend it after Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic pointed out its increased risk of stroke and heart attack, the news source said.

Between 1999 and 2009, more than 47,000 people taking Avandia suffered a stroke, heart attack, heart failure or death, according to the news provider.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients that it will "significantly restrict the use" of Avandia to patients who cannot control their Type 2 diabetes with other medications.