Did the Food and Drug Administration knowingly allow an unsafe diabetes drug to remain on the market?

The NY Times obtained confidential government reports concluding that if every diabetic currently taking Avandia were given the alternative drug Actos instead, about 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure would be prevented every month. Avandia, once the world’s biggest-selling drug, was linked to 304 deaths during the third quarter of 2009.

A bipartisan Senate investigation is expected to release its report today that will criticize the makers of Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline, for failing to warn patients about the potential deadly consequences of taking the drug.