GlaxoSmithKline and some physicians are having trouble recruiting patients for a large clinical trial of its controversial diabetes drug Avandia. The drug has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks, but GSK officials have said it is a safe and effective product. Federal regulators are considering whether to halt the so-called TIDE clinical trial early because of Avandia's health risks. Two sites, including Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, have pulled out of the safety study, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The British company, which has its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park, declined Both sites were closed recently because of an inability to recruit patients, said GSK spokeswoman Mary Anne Rhyne. The trials were closed by mutual agreement with the sites and the Population Health Research Institute, an independent academic research group conducting the study. There are 170 sites worldwide recruiting patients for the TIDE trial, including 21 in the United States, according to the federal website clinicaltrials .gov .

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