clipped from www.cnn.com Panel urges stricter diabetes drug testing WASHINGTON (AP) -- Diabetes drugs would be subject to more stringent safety standards that could cost manufacturers millions of dollars, under recommendations made Wednesday by a government panel. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted 14-2 that all new diabetes drugs should undergo longer studies to assure they don't increase risks of heart problems. The FDA is not required to follow the panel's advise, though it often does. If the recommendation is adopted, development of diabetes drugs would become longer and more expensive, since it can cost tens of millions of dollars to perform long-term studies that track heart problems in thousands of patients. Nearly 24 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes, which can lead to kidney failure, blindness and heart disease.