Consumer watchdog group Public Citizen filed a report with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 19 to remove the diabetes drug Victoza from the market "immediately," citing risks.
The group claimed the drug puts users at a higher risk of several maladies including thyroid cancer, pancreatitis, serious allergic reactions and kidney failure. Those risks outweigh the benefits, they added.
"The clinical safety reviewer does not recommend approval of liraglutide at this time . . . In the United States, there are already 11 classes of drugs approved for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes . . . The need for new therapies for type 2 diabetes is not so urgent that one must tolerate a significant degree of uncertainty regarding serious risk concerns," wrote Dr. Karen Mahoney.
Victoza is the only FDA-approved drug which causes thyroid C-cell tumors in lab mice.
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