A New York Times article chronicles the history of the anticoagulant drug Pradaxa, issued by Boehringer Ingelheim as an alternative to warfarin (brand name: Coumadin). According to the article, “A Promising Drug With a Flaw,” “Pradaxa is an example, some critics say, of what can happen when a drug that performs well in tightly controlled…
Court records indicate that Johnson & Johnson, maker of the antibiotic Levaquin, has reached settlements with about 845 of 1,900 plaintiffs in a multidistrict litigation case in U.S. District Court in Minnesota. The initial agreements will be completed soon, though terms of the settlement are confidential, according to a spokesman for the manufacturer based in…
A lawsuit filed by an Alabama man against Pfizer Inc., maker of the anti-smoking drug Chantix, has been designated the bellwether (test case) among more than 2,600 federal lawsuits filed nationwide. The trial is set to begin Jan. 22 in Florence, Alabama, before U.S. District Court Judge Inge Johnson. Billy G. Bedsole Jr.’s lawsuit became…
A Minnesota woman has received an undisclosed settlement with Pfizer Inc., maker of the anti-smoking drug Chantix, over the suicide death of her husband, Mark Alan Whitely. Judy Ann Whitely sued Pfizer, saying the pharmaceutical company didn’t warn consumers that Chantix might increase the risk of suicide. Whitely killed himself in November 2007. While the…
A new report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that dozens of diet and immune system supplements on shelves make illegal claims on their labels – some going as far as purporting to cure or prevent diabetes or cancer. Government investigators said these claims not only lure consumers into wasting…
Drug manufacturers have paid $6.6 billion so far this year – double from 2011 – to settle claims that they defrauded U.S. health programs, such as overbilling Medicare and pressuring physicians to prescribe medication in unapproved situations, according to the advocacy group Public Citizen. GlaxoSmithKline alone accounted for a record $3 billion settlement over complaints…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating the prescription drug Mirapex (generic name: pramipexole), which is used to treat Parkinson’s disease and restless legs syndrome, after recent studies suggested patients are at greater risk of heart failure. The FDA says the studies weren’t complete enough to determine whether Mirapex was the cause of heart…
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court against McKesson Corp. on September 14, 2012, accusing the nation’s largest drug wholesaler of artificially inflating prices of more than 400 brand-name prescriptions. Prescriptions affected include Allegra, Azmacort, Celebrex, Coumadin, Flonase, Lipitor, Neurontin, Nexium, Prevacid and Valium. Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne…
If an over-the-counter muscle and joint pain reliever is causing more pain or skin damage, including swelling or blistering, stop using it and get medical help, cautions the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency has received dozens of complaints that serious skin injuries, ranging from first- to third-degree chemical burns, were allegedly caused by…
For the second time this year, the Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about the dietary supplement Reumofan Plus, which has caused bleeding, strokes and death among those who have taken the pills. The FDA said while the pills are being marketed as being a “natural” remedy for arthritis and muscle pain, Reumofan…