Actos a prescription drug of the class thiazolidinedione that is used to treat type 2 diabetes. This week, the FDA announced that patients taking Actos for more than a year may have an increased risk of bladder cancer. The FDA’s announcement is based on its review of data from a planned five-year interim analysis of an ongoing, ten-year epidemiological study.
France and Germany have already banned the drug, although the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has yet to release any guidance on use ofthe drug.
The sale of another drug of the same class, Avandia (Rosiglitazone), was severely restricted last year in the United States because of concerns that it increased the risk of heart attack.
