A joint science advisory statement issued by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) warns about the use of thiazolidinediones (TZDs) as a treatment for diabetes after a report from the U.S. Senate Finance Committee outlined the drug's potential to cause adverse cardiac events.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance sent a blistering letter on Feb. 18 to the FDA questioning the agencys actions regarding the diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline).

In 2006, the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), a branch of the FDA, began examining the number of medical device reports they received. Over the past two years, the number of submitted reports has increased, sparking a demand for the CDRH to make a move to electronic reporting.

The use of statins increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 9 percent; however, the absolute risk is low, especially when compared with the beneficial effect that statins have on reducing coronary events, according to a meta-analysis of 13 statin trials published online Feb. 16 in the Lancet.

Abbott has completed its EUR 4.5 billion ($6.2 billion U.S.) acquisition of Brussels, Belgium-based Solvay Pharmaceuticals, expanding Abbott's presence in emerging markets.

Merck has reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2009, which include the results of legacy Schering-Plough operations from the close of the merger on Nov. 3, 2009, through Dec. 31, 2009.

There are cases presented to all physicians when we have to balance benefits of a particular treatment with concerns around safety for certain patients. In interventional cardiology, we see this dilemma with drug-eluting stents (DES). While this technology provides effective therapy for many patients with ischemia-inducing coronary lesions, there are certain patient groups that encounter problems for different reasons.

An amended whistleblower suit alleges that pharmaceutical company Pfizer unlawfully marketed Lipitor to the public for more than seven years and deliberately misrepresented U.S. guidelines, including those issued by the National Institutes of Health.