Consumer Group Urges FDA to Immediately Ban Avandia

WASHINGTON - The advocacy group Public Citizen has petitioned the FDA to ban the diabetes drug Avandia, citing multiple serious health risks associated with the drug and a lack of evidence that it's any more effective than other treatments.

The petition was filed last month and is based on a review of data indicating that the drug has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks, heart failure, bone fractures anemia and macular edema or vision loss, Public Citizen says.

"The evidence for this unique combination of toxicities is compounded by the accompanying lack of evidence of any clinical …