U.S. lawmakers seek ex-Glaxo executive on Avandia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. lawmakers said on Tuesday they want to interview a former GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) official as they probe whether a prominent diabetes doctor was pressured by the company for criticizing its drug Avandia.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, and Iowa Republican Charles Grassley are seeking information from former Glaxo research chief Tadataka Yamada, as they investigate whether the company tried to intimidate Dr. John Buse, now president of the American Diabetes Association.

A New England Journal of Medicine analysis published in May suggested a 43 percent boost in heart attack risk linked to the diabetes drug.

Last week, U.S. regulators slapped Avandia's packaging with a black box warning about that risk, the strongest label the Food and Drug Administration gives to warn of side effects.

Dr. Buse, also director of the University of North Carolina diabetes centre, had spoken years earlier at medical meetings about Avandia's potential negative impact on the heart. He also wrote a letter in 2000 to the FDA about his concerns.

Glaxo has said that a fair examination of its interactions with Dr. Buse shows Glaxo was trying to correct inaccuracies about data on Avandia in a 1999 presentation by Dr Buse. It says the presentation was sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502.T), maker of a competing drug called Actos.

Yamada was research chief at Glaxo until recently joining the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

"You played a significant role in developing and implementing GSK's (GlaxoSmithKline's) strategy for dealing with Dr. Buse's public airing of the his concerns about the cardiovascular risk associated with Avandia," the senators wrote in a letter dated November 16.

A representative for Dr. Yamada said he would be willing to meet with congressional staff.