This year, a team of medical researchers from Harvard Medical School published a study in JAMA that demonstrated men who used Viagra (sildenafil) were more than twice as likely to suffer melanoma as men who never used the drug. Here, we’ll discuss another article from Harvard University that raised concerns similar to those found in
On November 24th, the United States Food and Drug Administration issued a news release suggesting that more safety information be added to the packaging of power morcellators, medical devices used in laparoscopic procedures (minimally-invasive surgeries) such as hysterectomy and myomectomy. As hysterectomy is the second most common surgery undergone by women, safe medical devices for
Have you ever seen one of those metal head massagers, the ones with thin, spider-like metal legs that bend and flex to tickle your scalp? That’s pretty much exactly how inferior vena cava filters look, except IVC filters are much smaller – they fit inside a vein, and are used to catch blood clots before
Last year, a Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) was created to consolidate lawsuits against McNeil PPC, Inc., the company that owns Johnson and Johnson, alleging that “over-the-counter (“OTC”) acetaminophen containing products that are [marketed] and sold under its TYLENOL® brand-name caused liver damage, including liver failure, even when taken as directed.” Currently, there are about 125 Tylenol
This month, CBS affiliate WNEM reported that a settlement has been reached in a lawsuit over defective Stryker hips. In this defective hip replacement settlement, Stryker agreed to pay over $1.4 billion in damages to patients who received faulty implants. For more on defective hip replacements, check out our sister blog, DangerousDrugs WNEM writes, “Thousands
Plaintiffs in 12 of 27 pending cases against Cook Medical successfully moved the Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation (“JPMDL”) for centralization of their cases into an MDL. These cases were centralized into an MDL, In re Cook Medical, Inc., IVC Filters Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Location, MDL No. 2570, and were transferred
Judge Rebecca F. Doherty entered an amended judgment on October 27, 2014, reducing a $6 billion award of punitive damages against Takeda and a $3 billion award against Eli Lilly in Allen v. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. et al., Civil No. 6:12-cv-00064, a case in the Actos MDL, proceeding in the Western District of Louisiana,
A long-awaited settlement was reached between Howmedica Osteonics Corp., manufacturer of the Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II hip implants, and representatives for persons injured by these medical devices. The settlement includes encompasses claims brought in both the federal MDL pending in the District of Minnesota ( In re: Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Hip Implant
Last month, members of the US Congress sent letters to 14 generic drug manufacturers, demanding explanation for the recent, dramatic spike in the price of some 20 generic drugs. The Generic Pharmaceutical Association, a trade group representing the generic pharmaceutical industry, blames the increase on simple market forces, but many are suspicious of that response.
The recent approval of a drug for use in combating leukemia by the US Food and Drug Administration has shed light on the relatively controversial, albeit common practice by that organization of using surrogate markers of efficacy for determining the benefit of a given drug or therapy. Some believe this constitutes a low bar for