The Centers for Disease Control, CDC, conducted a study that found powerful antibiotic use is on the rise in U.S. hospitals. The antibiotics in question are potent drugs designed to treat bacterial infections. They have historically been used after other treatment options have failed. The study was instituted as a result of the increasing incidents
In September of 2015, actor and comedian Jim Carrey suffered a great loss when the body of his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Cathriona White, was discovered in her home after she took her own life. After writing a number of suicide notes, including one to Carrey, White swallowed a lethal dose of prescription pills with the expressed
John Henricks, a former inmate of the Ohio state prison system, was awarded a $3 million dollar settlement by a jury earlier this week after the state failed to answer his complaint in the appropriate amount of time. Henricks, who initially represented himself when he filed the case, accused Dr. Ida Gonzalez, along with the
In yet another unsurprising case of Big Pharma trying to control the fate of millions of Americans’ health, Insys Therapeutics has donated $500,000 to an anti-legalization of marijuana campaign in Arizona known as Proposition 205. Pro-legalization advocates view the half million dollar donation as a further attempt to line the pockets of powerful drug corporations
The Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, published a notice on August 31, 2016, of its intent to temporarily schedule Kratom as a Schedule I drug. According to the DEA, the measure is needed to “avoid imminent hazard to public safety”. Schedule I includes heroin and other dangerous drugs. That rule is scheduled to become effective September
In January, 2016, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas issued a press release announcing that arrests had been made in what was dubbed as the “Dallas Pill Mill”. U.S. Attorney John Parker stated that the arrests were in relation to a conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances. The drugs involved included
According to its September 7, 2016, press release, St. Jude Medical filed a lawsuit against MedSec and Muddy Waters Consulting, MedSec Holdings, Muddy Waters Capital, and three principals in those firms. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Minnesota. St. Jude Medical’s, SJM, allegations include “false statements, false advertising, conspiracy and the
With the price increase of the live-saving EpiPen from $100 per two-pack to over $600 per two-pack last week (conveniently in August when most parents who have children with allergies are set to purchase their necessary supplies of the drug before school starts), the company responsible for the hike, Mylan Inc., is backing away from
According to U.S. News, Trinity Health has reached, at least in principle, a hepatitis C lawsuit settlement that has been pending in North Dakota. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Behdad Sadeghi, indicated that the settlement involving 21 of the victims still needed to be finalized. Even so, attorneys for Trinity filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit
Taxotere (docetaxel) is a drug that is manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis for use in treating a number of different types of cancer. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, approved Taxotere for the treatment of breast cancer. It has since been discovered that Taxotere can cause permanent hair loss. An expected side effect of cancer