According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, one of the 33 members of a Food and Drug Administration  panel to review Avandia was a paid speaker for the diabetes drug’s manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline. Endocrinologist David Capuzzi has been paid a total of $14,750 to speak on the companies’ behalf. Capuzzi alleges that he informed the FDA about his relationship with GlaxoSmithKline.

The advisory committee met recently to discuss the side effects risk of Avandia and to provide advice on whether a recall or other regulatory action is needed.

After discussions, the committee held a vote to decide if the FDA should recall Avandia, restrict sales, enhance warnings or let it continue to be sold with present warnings unchanged. Out of the 33 members of the FDA advisory committee, only three voted to keep Avandia on the market with no further restrictions.

The controversy over the Diabetes drug Avandia began in 2007 as a result of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study found that Avandia users were 64% more likely to die of heart problems and 43% more likely to suffer a heart attack than patients taking a placebo.