GlaxoSmithKline's profit falls

News & Observer GlaxoSmithKline’s revenue and profit decreased 2 percent in the second quarter as sales of diabetes drug Avandia continued to drop. The British drug maker, which has a U.S. headquarters and a manufacturing plant in the Triangle, generated a $2.6 billion profit on $11.7 billion in revenue during the three months ended June 30. Job cuts and plant closings did not reduce expenses enough to overcome lost Avandia sales. The pill became controversial after a May 2007 study in the New England Journal of Medicine linked it to an increased risk of heart attack. Since then, regulators added stringent warnings about cardiovascular side effects to Avandia’s packaging information. Avandia sales, which have now decreased four quarters in a row, were down about 46 percent compared to the second quarter last year. GSK’s... [read full story]