Rosiglitazone, marketed as Avandia, was approved by the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) for treatment of type II diabetes on May 25, 1999. Diabetic patients are at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Maintaining lower blood sugar levels is believed to prevent diabetes long-term complications including cardiovascular disease and heart attacks. Avandia was approved based on its ability to lower the blood sugar level in diabetic patients. Avandia was developed and marketed by the U.K. drug giant, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and soon became GSK’s second best selling drug. In 2006 alone, U.S. patients filled 11 million prescriptions for the drug which earned GSK over $3 billion.