Before becoming LegalReader's Editor-in-Chief, Jay W. Belle Isle worked as a freelance copywriter with clients on four continents. Jay has a degree in Business Administration from Cleary University and a Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Jay has also worked as a contracts administrator for a DOD contractor specializing in vehicle armor.
6/9/2015 The FDA backtracks on labels, Big Tobacco drops its suit. America’s three largest tobacco giants, Phillip Morris USA (owned by Altria Group, Inc.), RJ Reynolds (owned by Reynolds American) and Marlboro, Camel & Newport (owned by Lorillard Tobacco) sued the FDA for overstepping its bounds by considering requiring approval for label changes such as
6/9/2015 Pfizer may have lied about Zoloft birth defects. According to research reports recently uncovered in one of the many suits claiming Zoloft causes birth defects, there may actually be a true causal link. This is despite Pfizer denying such a link. The Big Pharma giant successfully defended one such suit in April; however, the
6/9/2015 Onglyza could lead to heart failure, according to a recently-issued FDA warning. The agency also asked AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb, manufacturers of Onglyza, to turn over all of their clinical trial data for review. In addition, the FDA asked that all medical professionals report occurrences of Onglyza side effects, heart-related or not, to the
6/9/2015 Johnson and Johnson settles Arkansas Risperdal suit for $7.8B. The suit has been ongoing for eight years and the state’s AG alleges that J&J’s marketing of the psychiatric drug was flawed. The AG claims J&J misrepresented the drug’s safety and effectiveness, especially concerning diabetes risks. The state will take $2M of the settlement to
06/8/2015 Whitening teeth in Alabama is a crime… Unless you’re a licensed dentist. The State Supreme Court handed down a decision upholding a lower court’s ruling that only licensed dentists can provide teeth bleaching services. One wonders, if it’s a violation of public health and safety to bleach teeth as a non-dentist, can non-dermatologists do
6/8/2015 Viagra may increase melanoma risk by 84%. This is hard news to report, but something every man must understand: your “little blue pills” may end up giving you “little brown spots,” according to recent studies showing a correlation between Viagra use and incidence of melanoma skin cancer. At present, only one federal suit has
6/5/2015 A Quebec judge just issued a historic ruling, ordering three big tobacco companies to pay $15B settlement in Canada’s biggest class action suit. Andre Lesperance, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said, “These three companies lied to their customers for 50 years and hurt their right to life. It’s a great victory for victims as
6/4/2015 Louisiana ends the commonplace but illegal practice of billing rape victims for post-rape medical exams. Despite the fact that the federal government forbade such despicable acts ten years ago in the Violence Against Women Act, Louisiana never got the memo. State legislators signed off on proposed laws that will finally bring Louisiana into compliance.
6/2/2015 The FDA ban on ephedra has been spectacularly successful in preventing harm and death. Despite the fact that I regularly bust the FDA’s chops, I believe in giving credit where credit is due and the FDA has earned some in this case. The FDA banned the popular weight loss and energy boosting herbal supplement
6/1/2015 Olympus Corporation set aside $450M for an expected settlement regarding its marketing practices. It’s already on the hook for its duodenoscopes, which are very hard to clean and have caused a number of superbug outbreaks in the U.S. Olympus failed to timely warn hospitals in the U.S. and three people died. Now federal investigators