GlaxoSmithKline has come out swinging in self-defense. The drugmaker issued a 30-page statement that vociferously denies that it conceals any safety information on the embattled drug Avandia or that it disregarded the needs of patients. And it stepped up its backing for the diabetes med, saying that a recent Senate report didn’t present an accurate view of the drug. A U.S. Senate committee last weekend released the report from its investigation of Avandia, its safety, and GSK’s handling of the problematic data that first hit public view in 2007. The report was sharply critical of GSK, saying the company bullied scientists and disregarded internal concerns about the safety of the drug, which some studies had linked to increased risks of heart attack and stroke. At the time,