FDA & Prescription Drugs

• How Close is Too Close

  Greg Owen | November 30, 2007 2:55 PM | 0 CommentsGlendale, CA

  It has long been believed by many that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is much too close to drug companies, which clearly causes a conflict in terms of regulating those companies. To see the extent of the problem, we only need to take a look at Merck's Vioxx catastrophe, were it was revealed by one scientist that he had actually received vailed threats from the FDA regarding the release...

• Vioxx Settles - Merck & Co. to Pay $4.85 Billion

  Greg Owen | November 09, 2007 6:09 PM | 0 CommentsGlendale, CA

  Merck & Co. have agreed to a $4.85 billion global resolution for claims stemming from claims of heart attacks, strokes and even deaths due to the ingestion of the drug Vioxx. Now these victims can finally be compensated, which will bring an end to the on-going Vioxx litigation. Vioxx was first marketed by Merck & Co. In 1999 to treat arthritis and other types of pain. The drug was made by the...

• Wyeth Must Pay for their Defective Drugs

  Greg Owen | October 19, 2007 6:21 PM | 0 CommentsGlendale, CA

  On October 12, Reno jurors decided that Wyeth, the largest maker of hormone-replacement medicines, must pay $134.1 million, including $99 million in punitive damages. This suit was filed due to the mishandling of menopause drugs that helped cause cancer in three women. The punitive damages were levied on Wyeth for concealing the breast-cancer risks of its Prempro and Premarin drugs. Some six...

• N.J. Top Court Rejects Vioxx Class Action

  Greg Owen | September 07, 2007 8:32 PM | 0 CommentsGlendale, CA

  In what amounts to a huge legal victory for the manufacturer of Vioxx, Merck & Co, the New Jersey Supreme Court rejected a class-action lawsuit. The company currently has close to 27,000 individual claims from users claiming to have suffered heart attacks and strokes after consuming this defective product. Apparently, the court felt that a class-action suit was not appropriate for this...

• Avandia and Actos Linked to Heart Attacks in U.K.

  Greg Owen | July 30, 2007 11:27 AM | 0 CommentsGlendale, CA

  As in the United States, the obesity epidemic is growing in the United Kingdom. It is a known fact that obesity greatly increases a person's risk of becoming diabetic. In fact, the use of diabetes drugs, which are given to hundreds of thousands of mostly overweight people in the United Kingdom, are said to be causing another serious problem - heart failure.The drugs in question are Avandia...

• Defective Drugs - FDA's Credibility Questioned

  Greg Owen | July 13, 2007 4:04 PM | 0 CommentsGlendale, CA

  It is no secret that an endless parade of defective drugs such as Vioxx, Avandia, Accutane, Ketek and Zyprexa have been approved by the FDA. In fact, the FDA has been accused of being a little too close to the pharmaceutical industry. In an effort to remedy the situation, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill aimed at improving the FDA's current system. The bill, once signed by...

• Avandia Sales Drop

  Greg Owen | July 01, 2007 3:20 PM | 0 CommentsGlendale, CA

  Sales of Avandia, the drug developed to aid diabetes patients, have dropped by approximately 10% since The New England Journal of Medicine posted an Avandia study on May 21, 2007 that was less than favorable. The study showed a huge increase in heart attacks and cardiovascular disease in people taking the drug, which is a product of GlaxoSmithKline.By the drug manufacturer's estimates, the...

• Vaccines Linked to Autism

  Greg Owen | June 18, 2007 11:42 AM | 0 CommentsGlendale, CA

  Many parents have long thought that there is a direct link between vaccines given to their children and the onset of autism. The case of Michelle Cedillo, of Arizona, is the first to be heard on the subject in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Not suprisingly, the case is being closely watched. Most claims contend that thimerosal, which is a mercury-rich preservative, is to blame for the...

• Avandia-FDA Seeks Black Box Warning

  Greg Owen | June 07, 2007 10:54 AM | 0 CommentsGlendale, CA

  Lawmakers are hearing testimony from GlaxoSmithKline, doctors and regulators. The drugs Avandia, Avandaryl and Avandament, all GSK diabetes drugs, will be discussed at length. The discussion will be centered around whether enough was done by the drug maker GlaxoSmithKline to warn the public of the dangers involved with taking these medications, which are considered to be defective drugs by many....

• Vioxx Verdict for Vietnam Vetern

  Greg Owen | March 13, 2007 10:31 AM | 0 CommentsGlendale, CA

  In yet another defeat for the drug manufacturer Merck & Company, a jury awarded a total of 47.5 million dollars in damages yesterday. Frederick "Mike" Humeston had been granted a second trial in light of new evidence.Humeston, a Vietnam vetern and postal worker from Idaho, took Vioxx intermittently for pain in his knee due to a shrapnel wound. Subsequently he suffered a heart attack in...