GlaxoSmithKline Q1 profits beat analysts’ estimates as progress is made toward settlement of Avandia lawsuits.
First quarter profits were up 19% to over $2 billion, reported GlaxoSmithKline, beating drug industry analyst projections.
Without specifically mentioning Avandia, the diabetes drug manufacturer stated that legal costs for the quarter increased by over $319 million due to “the progress we are making towards settlement of a number of existing cases.” Over 2,000 Avandia lawsuits have been filed against Glaxo following a 2007 New England Journal of Medicine article linking Avandia to an increased risk of heart attack.
CEO Andrew Witty said Glaxo will “make our case” to keep Avandia on the market at a joint public meeting of the FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committees in July.