A Maryland judge dismissed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson over the DuPuy ASR™ hip implant after the plaintiff, a former dancer, withdrew her claim. A jury had already been chosen in Upper Marlboro, Md., when Moira Jackson’s attorney requested the withdrawal. According to the legal news website HarrisMartin.com, the lawsuit was withdrawn from state…
The third quarter Bayer stockholder’s newsletter provided the following update about the YAZ®, YASMIN®, Ocella™ and Gianvi® liability litigation ongoing in the U.S.: As of October 15, 2012, the number of lawsuits pending in the United States and served upon Bayer was about 12,400. In addition, about 720 asserted claims were pending that have not…
Qualitest, a Huntsville, Alabama, subsidiary of Endo Health Solutions, has voluntarily recalled 101 lots of hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets. The company said some of the tablets may contain more acetaminophen than the label claims. Hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen (the generic version of Vicodin) are used for moderate to moderately severe pain. Increased acetaminophen levels…
A new study has determined that the FDA-required patient medication guides meant to explain risks associated with prescribed drugs are “of little value” because “they are too complex and difficult to understand,” especially for those with limited reading skills. The researchers, who published their findings in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found that only…
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…