Shares of GlaxoSmithKline continued to slide this morning as the analysts continued to ponder the fallout from a new study that points to a 64 percent increase in cardiac deaths and a 43 percent increase in the risk of heart attacks among patients taking its diabetes drug Avandia. Glaxo's stock has tumbled about eight percent since the news hit yesterday. There is data from another long-term study that doesn't show any such dramatic leap in risks, so there's no immediate concern that the drug will be jerked off the market. Meanwhile, Takeda and Merck - which make competing drugs -- have benefited from Glaxo's woes.
- here's the report on Avandia from the San Diego Union-Tribune