All Topics

• Link Between Advandia and Heart Attacks

  Jamie Sheller | May 24, 2007 10:39 AM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  The FDA has issued a safety alert about the drug Advandia, which is used to treat type-2 diabetes. Data from some trials of the drug show that patients taking Advandia have a potentially serious increased risk of heart attack and heart-related death. Other studies show contradictory results. As of right now, the FDA is not requiring GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Advandia, to take any action...

• Guilty Plea for OxyContin Makers

  Jamie Sheller | May 13, 2007 7:31 PM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  Over $630 million in fines will be paid by the makers of OxyContin. In a federal court in Virginia, Purdue Pharma L.P. and three of its current and former executives pleaded guilty to making false and misleading claims about the drug. OxyContin is a powerful and highly addictive painkiller and Purdue Pharma claimed to physicians and the public that it was less addictive than other medicines....

• The $65 Million Lawsuit - Don't Let One Bad Apple Spoil The Bunch

  Jamie Sheller | May 04, 2007 7:19 PM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  By now, everyone has heard about the $65 million lawsuit against a dry cleaners over a pair of lost pants. That the matter is ridiculous is immediately apparent. No matter what kind of math is involved, no lost pair of pants translates into $65 million of damages. However, even more absurd is the attempt to use this ridiculous lawsuit as a poster child for tort reform. Can anybody with...

• Many Ties Between Physicians and Drug/Device Companies

  Jamie Sheller | April 29, 2007 5:53 PM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  Marketers for pharmaceutical and medical device companies actively pursue high-prescribing physicians. A study recently reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, indicated that most of the physicians questioned had a relationship of some kind with the industry in the previous year. Cardiologists received the most perks, while pediatricians and anesthesiologists received the least. ...

• Recall of Beef Due to E. Coli Fear

  Jamie Sheller | April 21, 2007 1:01 PM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  Almost 400,000 pounds of beef have been recalled by two beef producers, due to concerns about E. Coli contamination. HFX, Inc. and Richwood Meat Co., the two beef producers involved in the recall, are in California and Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania beef was distributed in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The California beef was distributed in California, Idaho, Washington, Oregon...

• More Evidence Linking Hormone Use To Cancer Risk

  Jamie Sheller | April 19, 2007 6:21 PM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  The results of research done in the United States and in the United Kingdom, affirms earlier evidence linking the use of hormones to increased cancer risk. The recent research demonstrates that hormone use can raise the risk of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American women. Hormone replacement therapy is also linked to a slightly elevated risk of...

• FDA Committee Says No to Merck's Vioxx Successor

  Jamie Sheller | April 14, 2007 6:47 PM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  Merck is seeking FDA approval for a new Cox-2 inhibitor, etoricoxib (Arcoxia). However, according to the FDA's Arthritis Drugs Advisory Committee, the drug's cardiovascular risk outweighed its benefits. One member of the committee also indicated that it was unclear that there was the need for another product in this class of drugs. Though it is not required to, the FDA usually follows the...

• More Recalls of Guidant Heart Devices

  Jamie Sheller | April 12, 2007 12:36 PM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  Due to a defect causing shortened battery life, Guidant has recalled several models of its implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD's) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-D's). The recall involves about 73,000 devices, which have faulty capacitors possibly leading to rapid battery depletion. The Guidant ICD's and CRT-D's included in this recall are the Contak Renewal 3 HE...

• Diagnosis and Potential Cause of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis

  Jamie Sheller | April 07, 2007 8:18 PM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF)/Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD) is a disorder characterized most visibly by skin lesions and hardened plaques on the skin. Usually, the extremities are most affected. NSF/NFD can also be found in other parts of the body, such as lungs, myocardium and skeletal muscle. The disorder is found in patients with kidney failure. NSF/NFD can be fatal. ...

• Halt to Sales of IBS Drug Zelnorm

  Jamie Sheller | April 05, 2007 11:30 PM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  Pharmaceutical company Novartis has halted sales of Zelnorm. The drug is used to treat irritable bowel syndrome and constipation. The FDA requested that the drug be withdrawn from the market after trial results showed an increase in ischemic events, including angina and strokes, in patients taking Zelnorm, compared with a placebo group. Novartis does not believe that the trials demonstrate a...