GlaxoSmithKline says sales of diabetes drug could bounce back after safety scare

GlaxoSmithKline PLC Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Garnier said Wednesday it is "very possible" that sales of its diabetes drug Avandia could regain lost ground once safety data the company expects to vindicate the treatment becomes available.

Analysts expect Avandia sales to drop sharply after an article combining results from dozens of studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Monday that said people taking the drug have a 43 percent greater risk of heart attack than patients using other diabetes drugs, or no medication.

Glaxo said its own reviews showed the drug increased the risk of heart attack by 30 percent, and said it told the Food and Drug Administration about that last year. The British drug maker added that it disagreed with the article's conclusions and questioned its methodology.

Garnier acknowledged at the company's shareholder meeting on Wednesday that sales of Avandia could fall, but said that it is too early to predict whether the drug will be the target of product liability lawsuits.

"We expect that once the complete data set on Avandia becomes available, our product will be vindicated," he said.

The Avandia family of drugs, which includes combination treatments Avandamet and Avandaryl, last year posted sales of 1.6 billion pounds , making it GlaxoSmithKline's second best-selling drug after asthma treatment Advair.

A Food and Drug Administration panel meeting is due to examine safety data on Avandia, following The New England Journal of Medicine study. No date has yet been set.

"We are looking forward to this meeting," Garnier said.