Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Recommendations for dangerous asthma drugs written by docs who were paid by drug makers.

Asthma inhaler–NOT a beta-agonist

A review of "transcripts of FDA hearings, financial disclosures, medical journal articles, and a U.S. Department of Justice complaint against GlaxoSmithKline" led John Fauber of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to report that the asthma drug Advair and similar drugs were linked to 1,900 asthma deaths from 2004-2011, according to one estimate.

And this:

A Journal Sentinel/MedPage Today investigation found the growth in Advair sales followed new asthma treatment recommendations that were written largely by doctors who received money from GlaxoSmithKline and other companies that market the drugs.

Fauber's story was written for the Journal Sentinel in collaboration with MedPage Today, which also published the story.

According to Fauber, some FDA scientists had warned of the drugs' risks, especially for children and African-Americans, warning that Advair and other long-lasting beta-agonists should not be prescribed to children and should be taken off the market. The FDA "sidestepped" those concerns, Fauber writes.

See Fauber for the disturbing details.

-Paul Raeburn