LONDON, Aug 1: GlaxoSmithKline Plc shares gained four per cent on Tuesday after a US advisory panel recommended its diabetes pill Avandia should stay on the market.

Even though data suggested Avandia may raise the risk of a heart attack for some patients, panel members voted 22-1 to keep the medicine on sale. Most advisers backed stronger warnings on the widely used drug.

Worldwide sales in the three months to June dropped to 349 million pounds from 477 million a year ago, the company reported last week.

Monday's panel decision is expected to keep Avandia a blockbuster product, albeit with lower sales than in the past.

Morgan Stanley analysts estimate sales of 1.2 billion in 2010.—Reuters