- Staff Writer | June 30, 2006 7:15 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsOn June 30, a new suit was filed against Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., a division of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), on behalf of a 46-year-old woman and her husband. The woman suffered a stroke while using the Ortho Evra(r) Birth Control Patch for only three months. The suit was filed in The Superior Court of New Jersey near Johnson and Johnson's world headquarters.
- Staff Writer | June 30, 2006 6:20 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsIn its second Safety Information Alert in six months, the FDA announced it is mandating tougher warnings about liver toxicity and liver failure, after receiving reports of four deaths and one liver transplant, in patients who were taking the antibiotic Ketek. Ketek was approved in April, 2004, for upper respiratory infections in adults. The drug's maker, Aventis-Sanofi SA, had been testing the...
- Staff Writer | June 30, 2006 9:13 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsIn a recent New York Times story, it was reported that drug companies are pouring large sums of money into medical research through non-profit groups directed by the doctors who are doing the research. In addition, the doctors actually doing the research are often paid consultants to the drug companies themselves. As a result, the risk that drug companies are influencing the direction and...
- Staff Writer | June 29, 2006 4:45 PM |
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Workplace DiscriminationOn June 22, 2006, the United States Supreme Court rendered entered a new, sweeping decision concerning retaliation claims under Title VII, which gives victims of retaliation greater protection than victims of actual discrimination. In Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railroad v. White, an opinion authored by Justice Breyer, the Supreme Court decided for the first time that an employer may be...
- Staff Writer | June 29, 2006 9:38 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThe FDA announced last week that it is developing a single elecronic web-based system for reporting information about drug safety problems. The FDA hopes to have the new system in place within two years, though no firm timetable has been established. "The system will be easy to use, so that the general public is encouraged to report incidents and is not deterred by the nature of the...
- Staff Writer | June 28, 2006 9:25 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThe New England Journal of Medicine published a correction June 26, 2006, saying that it does not take 18 months of Vioxx use to increase heart risk, but that heart risks could occur after as few as three months of use. The correction is expected to undermine Merck & Co.'s ability to defend itself against thousands of lawsuits.Dr. Gregory D. Curfman , executive editor of the New England...
- Staff Writer | June 23, 2006 6:03 PM |
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MiscellaneousRecent data reports that the average pharmacist's work load increased a staggering 35% between 1992 and 2000. This increase is a statement of the number of prescriptions dispensed per pharmacist per year. With a significant increase in work load, the question is how pharmacists have time to either accurately fill [or double-check the filling of] prescriptions. Further, as work load increases...
- Staff Writer | June 22, 2006 6:32 PM |
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MiscellaneousKendall Atkinson died from Fanconi Anemia, a disease that led to bone marrow failure, on March 14, 2004 at the age of 20. In memory of their sister, Allison and Whitney launched "Kaps for Kendall." The goal is to raise money to fight the disease that took the life of their sister and to provide special hats for kids and adults who have lost their hair from chemotherapy and radiation. Many...
- Staff Writer | June 22, 2006 4:07 PM |
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MiscellaneousThe USA Today cover story on June 21, 2006, adds to the chorus of controversy over the use of expert testimony, particularly mental health experts (psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, etc), at trials. This article uses the Andrea Yates murder conviction (the woman who drowned her five children in the family bathtub), and the subsequent determination by the Texas Court of Appeals that her...
- Staff Writer | June 22, 2006 8:57 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsFederal Judge David Katz of Toledo has asked Ohio's highest court to decide whether Ohio's cap on in civil lawsuits is constitutional. Judge Katz made this request because it could affect a lawsuit before him in which Ohio litigants are suing Ortho Evra, alleging the company's birth control patch caused serious side effects or death. The caps on damages awards have been passed by the state...
- Staff Writer | June 21, 2006 6:16 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsIn a recent personal injury and product liability lawsuit filed in Federal court in St. Louis, Renu with MoistureLoc is being blamed for an eye infection (Fusarium Keratitis) and a subsequent cornea transplant. The suit alleges that Bausch and Lomb was negligent and failed to warn customers that the solution could cause serious and permanent injury. There have been 125 other similar cases...
- Staff Writer | June 21, 2006 3:59 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsPublication of a new study in medicine is nothing new. But one of the recent studies published in a medical journal which is being publicized in the popular press highlights that it is important not only for pharmacists and doctors to stay on top of new research in medicine, but it is critical for patients to take care to inform doctors and pharmacists of medicines they may be taking. The new...
- Staff Writer | June 20, 2006 3:56 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsNovartis Consumer Health and FDA notified patients, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals that the sponsor is conducting a nationwide voluntary recall of all Triaminic Vapor Patch products due to reports of serious adverse events associated with accidental ingestion by children. Triaminic Vapor Patch is labeled as a cough suppressant for children two (2) years of age and older and is...
- Staff Writer | June 20, 2006 1:15 PM |
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Workplace InjuriesNew Urbanism is, with the new world of lifestyle choices and development opportunities, among the most prominent current concepts in city planning and development. Typically this type of real estate development is the creation of diverse, walkable and compact communities with mixed-use elements including high-rise condominiums.Along with these development opportunities developers are also...
- Staff Writer | June 19, 2006 4:05 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsNovartis AG has recalled its Triaminic cough-suppressing vapor patches and warns consumers to stop using them immediately. The warning applies to both the mentholated cherry and menthol scented versions. A child suffered a seizure after chewing on one of the patches. Novartis said the patches are to be placed on the chest or throat of children as young as 2 to allow vapors to reach the nose...
- Staff Writer | June 19, 2006 11:00 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsIn early 2006, a cluster of four cases of fusarium keratitis was seen at the University of California, San Francisco. Each of the four patients used ReNu with MoistureLoc. In fact, three of the four had been young, otherwise healthy women who used ReNu with MoistureLoc exclusively. Ironically, it was a cluster of four cases of fusarium keratitis in ReNu with MoistureLoc users in February 2006...
- Staff Writer | June 19, 2006 9:22 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsIn a recent article on CNN.com, attorneys have filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court, alleging that the claims made by labels on sunscreen products are misleading, and not offering all the protection they claim. The lawsuit focuses on some of the products sold by Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat, Bull Frog, and Neutrogena, because those products make claims such as "UVB/UVA...
- Staff Writer | June 16, 2006 3:51 PM |
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Medical MalpracticeMRL, Inc. and FDA notified healthcare professionals of a voluntary worldwide Class I recall of 580 AED20 automatic external defibrillators because of an intermittent electrical connection that could result in failure, delay in analyzing the patient's ECG or failure to deliver expected therapy and resuscitation of the patient. A Class 1 recall occurs when there is reasonable probability that use...
- Staff Writer | June 15, 2006 7:19 PM |
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MiscellaneousA friend of mine recently posed the following question to me in regard to commercial construction and the corresponding contract that he entered into with his builder: My company contracted with a builder to construct a new commercial office building for my business. After we moved in, we had numerous problems that I believe the builder is responsible for. The builder told me that we have a...
- Staff Writer | June 15, 2006 9:31 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsIn the Bextra/Celebrex MDL, Judge Breyer is holding a hearing today in San Francisco on Pfizer's motion to dismiss the claims of consumers, labor unions and insurance companies that allege they wrongfully paid for these drugs as a result of Pfizer's improper conduct. A ruling, however, will not be expected for several weeks.
- Staff Writer | June 14, 2006 8:10 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsJohnson and Johnson announced that its Scios unit will spend over $100 million to test the safety and effectiveness of its heart failure drug, Natrecor. The new study will involve 7,000 people and will test safety issues that arose last year when other studies showed that the drug could lead to an increased risk of kidney problems and a higher risk of mortality within the first month of...
- Staff Writer | June 14, 2006 8:07 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThe Washington Post recently reported that a new analysis of 19 studies of long-acting asthma medicines, such as Advair and Servent, shows that the risk of hospitalization and death is substantially increased over those who used placebos. "What we have here is a drug that increases the number of people who will die from the disease it is treating," said lead author Shelley Salpeter of Stanford...
- Staff Writer | June 14, 2006 8:04 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsAn official within the FDA called for a halt of clinical trials in children of Sanofi-Aventis' antibiotic, Ketek, based on concerns that the drug might be deadly. The drug is being tested on ear infections and tonsillitis in nearly 4,000 infants and children in over a dozen countries, including the U.S., in spite of its having caused liver failure, blurred vision, and loss of consciousness in...
- Staff Writer | June 14, 2006 8:00 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsOn June 8th, Judge Weinstein (the federal judge overseeing the Zyprexa litigation and $700 million settlement) issued an order that if claimants in the settlement do not have their claims submitted to the Special Masters with the necessary documents to support their claim "conforming to the guidelines agreed upon in the Final Settlement Protocol" by July 17th, their claims will be deemed...
- Staff Writer | June 14, 2006 7:18 PM |
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MiscellaneousSeveral people have asked me the if arbitration clauses are enforceable in Colorado. They are absolutely enforceable. In fact, Colorado case law strongly favors such clauses. Arbitration clauses are generally considered to be favorable to defendants and businesses, although the better practice is to decide whether to include an arbitration agreement on a case by case basis. The court system...
- Staff Writer | June 05, 2006 1:28 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsA federal appeals court has ruled that, just as terminally ill patients have a right to die and refuse treatment, they also have a right to take all measures available to them to sustain their lives. The court's ruling allows dying patients access to experimental drugs that have passed the first phase of FDA review, which determines whether a product is safe, even prior to full FDA approval.The...
- Staff Writer | June 04, 2006 1:41 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsA panel of Nigerian medical experts issued a report concluding that Pfizer, Inc., illegally tested its unapproved drug, Trovan, on children and infants during a 1996 epidemic of deadly meningitis in Kano, Negeria. Pfizer contends that its use of the unapproved drug was purely for philanthropic reasons, but the Nigerian panel called it a "clear case of exploitation of the ignorant," in its...
- Staff Writer | June 03, 2006 1:36 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThe FDA's Medwatch has issued an alert to consumers and healthcare professionals regarding the expansion of an earlier recall of Ultilet insulin syringes and the additional recall of Closercare insulin syringes because of bacterial contamination with Paenibacillus. This bacteria presents a risk of local infection due to soft tissue injection with a contaminated syringe, and also a risk of...
- Staff Writer | June 02, 2006 1:30 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsMost people are aware by now that Vioxx, a prescription anti-inflammatory manufactured by Merck & Co., has been associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. But few people know that Deramaxx, an anti-inflammatory medication for dogs which is closely related to Vioxx, has been associated with hundreds of deaths in dogs. Recently, The Washington Post reported that more than 350...
- Staff Writer | June 01, 2006 1:22 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThirty-seven of 120 people who experienced a severe fungal infection from using Bausch & Lomb's RuNu with MoistureLoc contact solution have required corneal transplants, according to an article on health.msn.com. That's 31%, and experts expect that the percentage may climb as high as 50 percent. Bausch & Lomb permanently removed the contact solution, which was used by about 2.3 million...
- Staff Writer | June 01, 2006 10:34 AM |
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Medical MalpracticeI read a story today about a Tacoma physician filing a medical malpractice lawsuit involving his wife's recent death. While you cannot make a good determination based on just what you read in the papers, it appears as if her death should have been prevented. We, of course, sympathize with the family and offer our condolences.Medical malpractice damage caps affect us all. I hope our legislators...