ProPublica, the investigative newsroom that has often discussed issues of drug safety and pharmaceutical company behavior, recently published an article entitled “Nine Ideas to Make Tylenol and Other Acetaminophen Drugs Safer”. In the piece ProPublica journalists offer the following ideas to make the drug safer for public use and hopefully decrease the number of users…
Court records from this summer revealed that transvaginal mesh manufacturer Bard knew that they were manufacturing their mesh out of plastic that was not suitable for implantation in humans. The medical device manufacturer had been told as much by the suppliers of the plastic resin, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. Chevron clearly warned Bard that the…
Novo Nordisk’s Chief Science Officer Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen stated that the pharmaceutical company is looking into continuing trials to determine if Victoza could be marketed as a possible Alzheimer’s treatment. Victoza is currently going through a proof of concept study. If this is successful, the drug will continue through phase III clinical trials to see…
In the past years, there has been a huge increase in the number of young people getting hip and knee replacements. In the past, these devices were reserved for the elderly, but as more and more people live and want to maintain active lifestyles, these implants are becoming an option for the young. In fact,…
Five mesh manufacturers are said to be moving towards settlement over transvaginal mesh lawsuits that have been consolidated into multi-district litigation in West Virginia. The manufacturers that are involved in the talks are C.R. Bard, Endo Health Solutions, Boston Scientific Corporation, Coloplast Corporation, and Cook Medical Inc. Most of the companies face over 12,000 lawsuits,…
Merck, manufacturer of the controversial diabetes drug Januvia, has made the decision to stop manufacturing a combination of Januvia (sitagliptin) and the high cholesterol treatment simvastatin. The drug was called Juvisync, and the theory behind it was that the company could increase profits by capitalizing on the large population of individuals that suffer from high…
In Maryland, a jury found drug giant Takeda Pharmaceutical Company liable for $1.7 million in damages for not properly warning its user regarding the risks of taking Actos and developing bladder cancer or heart problems. The subject of the case was a deceased man by the name of Diep An, who was a former U.S….
The first federal trial against Johnson and Johnson for its ASR hip implant was supposed to start on September 14, but U.S. District Judge David Katz has signed an order postponing it because of problems scheduling expert witnesses on both sides. Additionally, there have been problems with general pre-trial discovery because of the fact that…
Onglyza, a DPP-4 inhibitors, was the subject of a new study conducted by researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The study concluded with the following findings: Onglyza resulted in an increased risk of heart failure. Those taking the diabetes medication had a 3.5% increased risk, versus 2.8% in the control group. There…
Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy subsidiary is facing massive liability over its metal on metal hip implants, in particular the Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) implants. In March 2013, a jury granted plaintiff Loren “Bill” Kransky $8.3 million in compensatory damages for medical expenses and pain and suffering. The jury did not impose punitive damages. Now DePuy…
