Tampa Bay Personal Injury Lawyer articles in category: FDA & Prescription Drugs

The FDA and Actavis Totowa recently announced the recall of Digitek (digoxin) tablets due to manufacturing defects that caused the pills to contain excessive doses of the drug which can lead to toxic reactions, especially in patients with kidney problems.

A review of Pfizer’s most recent 10-K filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission leads to concerns about whether Pfizer’s legal woes are quickly growing out of control. The list...

On April 9, 2008, the FDA announced new safety risks perhaps associated with Pfizer’s diabetes drug, Exubera. Exubera is an inhaled insulin product that was approved for use in the United ...

On March 31, 2008, a study funded by the National Cancer Institute, was published in the medical journal Circulation and analyzed data from six separate studies involving nearly 8,000 patients...

The FDA is looking into whether Boehringer Ingelheim' respiratory inhaler poses a greater risk of stroke. According to the FDA, the data submitted by the German drug manufacturer, shows that its Spiriva Handihaler poses a greater risk of stroke compared with a placebo. FDA said it has not yet analyzed the figures, which were compiled from 29 patient studies. The FDA has asked doctors to report...

The idea of drug companies advertising the prescription medicines they manufacture on TV and in other consumer directed media has always been offensive to me. I have often wondered if other consumers like me consider the fact that the drug products these companies advertise are for conditions that never go away. In other words, with few exceptions the products do not heal anything, they just...

On February 1, 2008, the FDA issued a public heath advisory (http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01788.html) regarding new safety warnings regarding the smoking-cessation drug Chantix (varenicline) indicating, "It appears increasingly likely that there may be an association between Chantix and serious neuropsychiatric symptoms." Chantix, a non-nicotine prescription medication...

A week after a study showed that Vytorin is no more effective in reducing cholesterol than the company's generic equivalent, Merck and Schering-Plough withdrew their direct-to-consumer marketing ads. Vytorin, a combination of Zetia and Merck's Zocor, lost patent protection in 2006. The marketing campaign was a familiar one to television viewers and was dubbed "food and family" depicting in a...

In a new warning about certain anemia drugs, the FDA has noted that studies are showing that patients with breast or advanced cervical cancers died more rapidly or their tumors grew at an advanced rate than those who were not treating with anemia drugs known as ESAs (erythropoiesis-stimulating agents). According to the FDA, "all eight studies show more rapid tumor growth or shortened survival...

"Reductions in postmenopausal breast cancer incidence observed in the US were strongest in White women, intermediate in Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic women, and absent in African-American women. In all groups, declines were most evident for hormone receptor-positive, lobular, and small cancers. While this and other ecologic analyses cannot definitively speak to the influence of...

The FDA has issued another warning about the Fentanyl skin patch used to administer powerful pain medication to patients. The problems with the skin patch have occurred due to misprescribing the drug or improper use of the patch resulting in serious injury and death. The skin patch was approved for use by the FDA in 1990 but has resulted in serious health concerns for users of the patch. ...

It was announced last week that 1.2 Million doses of the HIB vaccine were recalled. The recalled vaccine was manufactured in a Pennsylvania plant that was found to be contaminated. The CDC is concerned of a vaccine shortage and urged doctors to delay the third and final booster shot in the series. The vaccine is given to infants to help prevent pneumonia and meningitis. Normally, the...

In today's St. Petersburg Times, there is a front page story about Eli Lilly's apparently successful efforts at marketing the drug Zyprexa to children. The FDA is about to approve the drug's use for children in spite of the dangerous side effects which include diabetes. Children are even more susceptible to these side effects. In the article, I am quoted as saying that Eli LIlly isn't fazed...

The Food and Drug Administration has strengthened already tough warnings on certain epilepsy drugs that are also used to treat bipolar disorder and nerve pain. In addition, the FDA singled out those of Asian ancestry to undergo genetic testing prior to beginning any regimen with the drug carbamazepine which is distributed as Carbatrol by Shire PLC, Tegretol by Novartis AG and Equetro by Validus...

China's scandal ridden pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a massive clean up effort by China's version of the FDA. China has been plagued by health scares due to bad drugs, false advertising, and unlicensed drug manufacturers. One Chinese health official, Zheng Xiaoyu, was sentenced to death last May for taking bribes. In one case of bad drugs, dozens of people in Panama died as a result...