An FDA scientist has recommended the diabetes drug Avandia be pulled from the market for heightening heart attack risks associated with its use. Dr. David Graham made the recommendation during a meeting of a scientific advisory panel which will consider whether the drug should continue to carry FDA approval, according to the Associated Press. In May, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine called attention to heart problems associated with the drug. The FDA could have prevented this scandal by listening to doctors and scientists who recommended a "black-box" warning on the drug's label, the highest the FDA imposes, in February 2006. Instead, the FDA chose to alienate its own experts from the process, siding with industry-backed data. Unfortunately, patients who have taken Avandia bear the true cost of regulators' irresponsibility. GlaxoSmithKline is questioning the validity of FDA data with its own, also according to AP. Let's hope that this time FDA stands up for public health.