An $11.1 million jury award against Johnson & Johnson by a woman injured by vaginal mesh has been upheld by a state court of appeals in New Jersey. Linda Gross filed suit against Ethicon, a division of J&J in 2008 alleging injuries including severe pain which resulted in 18 surgeries, the loss of her career…
DetailsThe U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear Johnson & Johnson’s appeal of a $140 million verdict that found the drug manufacturer failed to warn that Children’s Motrin pain reliever could cause a debilitating skin condition. The rejection of J&J’s appeal means that one of the largest verdicts ever awarded in Massachusetts will stand. The…
DetailsThe Arizona Supreme Court recently ruled that a woman who developed lupus and hepatitis after taking the acne drug Solodyn could pursue a consumer fraud claim against the drug manufacturer, Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. Amanda Watts of Chandler, Arizona, sued Medicis for failing to provide adequate warning information about the potential side effects of Solodyn. Her…
DetailsThe makers of Viagra — the “little blue pill” used to treat erectile dysfunction — may be subject to new multidistrict litigation (MDL) if a judicial panel votes to approve the establishment of an MDL for a number of cases that charge Viagra causes melanoma. In December 2015, Pfizer agreed that MDL coordination was appropriate…
DetailsThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers that patients with underlying advanced liver disease risk serious liver injury by using two hepatitis C treatments — Viekira Pak and Technivie — manufactured by AbbVie. Both of the AbbVie drugs are used to treat chronic hepatitis C, a condition caused by a viral infection that…
DetailsAn Atlanta jury has awarded a woman $10 million in punitive damages and $1 million in compensatory damages for injuries she received following hip replacement surgery using the Wright Conserve Resurfacing Cup manufactured by Wright Medical Technology. The bellwether trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, where multiple cases against Wright…
DetailsDespite a 2012 directive from Congress to better include patients in the development of treatments for disease, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that the key to a drug’s approval is still scientific evidence. A recent Bloomberg report noted that a drug to treat Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, Kyndrisa from BioMarin Pharmaceutical, failed to gain…
DetailsMillions of Americans take over-the-counter herbal and botanical supplements every day, but there is growing evidence that these supplements can interfere with a number of prescription medications for everything from high blood pressure to cancer. According to a recent Wall Street Journal story, researchers have discovered that some supplements change the way the body metabolizes drugs. In…
DetailsIn response to a surge of consumer complaints about the Essure permanent contraceptive device since October 2013, the FDA has now ordered its manufacturer, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, to perform a postmarket safety study. In addition, the FDA has proposed a box warning and a patient checklist highlighting the potential adverse events that could occur following implantation of…
DetailsA footnote in a plaintiff’s brief in a federal lawsuit against two major pharmaceutical companies has led the New York Times to pose an unsettling question: did Bayer and Johnson & Johnson mislead the editors of a leading medical journal in an effort to protect Xarelto, an anti-clotting drug that is a sales blockbuster for…
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