FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Vioxx Lawsuit against Merck Dismissed by U.S. Judge

  Christina Cole | April 13, 2007 8:20 AM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  A class action lawsuit against Merck, filed by investors', has been dismissed by a U.S. federal judge regarding their drug Vioxx, an anti-inflammatory medication.The lawsuit was filed over specific disclosures regarding Vioxx which Merck took off the market in September 2004. Clinical studies showed patients that were taking the drug for 18 months or longer were at a higher risk of suffering a...

• Controversy over plan to sell a Vioxx-like drug

  IB Contributor | March 31, 2007 11:54 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  A furor over the a new Merck painkiller that is "just like Vioxx" has spurred the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to an article in The Boston Globe.The article says that some analysts are scratching their heads at Merck & Co.'s plan to sell a new painkiller that is not much different than Vioxx, the blockbuster drug it pulled from the market in 2004 after several said that it...

• Merck scores another victory

  IB Contributor | March 31, 2007 11:03 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  A jury in the Midwest this week cleared drugmaker Merck of liability in a case involving its once-blockbuster painkiller Vioxx saying that a 52-year-old obese woman didn't die because she took Vioxx, but from several other health complications.A Madison County court jury found that Merck & Co. adequately warned doctors and consumers about possible complications from using Vioxx. After...

• Merck's Cervical Cancer Vaccine Under Investigation

  IB Contributor | February 20, 2007 12:42 AM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  Should we trust Merck after Vioxx?Is mandating innoculations the way to go? The National Vaccine Information Center has asked state officials to investigate the safety of a Merck-produced "breakthrough cancer vaccine," which is said to prevent the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, the Washington Times reported.According to the Feb. 3 article, negative side effects are being...

• Merck Prepares To Defend Fosamax Lawsuits

  IB Contributor | February 17, 2007 9:42 AM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  Osteonecrosis allege by Fosamax Users Merck & Co., the drug maker who was already battered by numerous Vioxx lawsuits, is preparing for an avalanche of litigation from patients claiming they were harmed by Fosamax, the company's quick-selling osteoporosis drug, according to an article on consumer.com.Merck reportedly announced last week that it is setting aside $48 million to set up a defense...

• Improved Drug Safety Promised By FDA

  IB Contributor | February 08, 2007 12:30 AM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  The Food and Drug Administration is now proposing steps to improve the safety of prescription medication after years of criticism of its drug safety standards and the much-publicized Vioxx scandal.The new steps are designed to make sure concerns about potential drug safety are widely circulated within the agency before a drug is given the stamp of approval, according to an article in...

• Blood Thinning Medicine Tied To Brain Bleeds

  IB Contributor | January 11, 2007 10:44 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  Elderly people, especially those over 80, who take the blood-thinning medicine warfarin to prevent heart attacks or strokes, may be at a greater risk for serious brain hemorrhage, according to a new study released this week in the Journal of Neurology.According to a Jan. 9 article written by Jamie Talan in Newsday, scientists at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine found that use of...

• FDA Tightened Approval Process Since Vioxx Debacle

  IB Contributor | January 10, 2007 1:17 AM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  Apparently, the Food and Drug Administration is getting very picky about the drugs it approves after the Vioxx debacle. As it should be. The nations health depends upon their expertise. According to a news report by George E. Jordan for Newhouse News Service, FDA has approved only 17 new drugs last year, which is a new low since the peak of 53 approvals a decade ago."That compares with 36...

• Prescription Drug Warning

  IB Contributor | January 05, 2007 10:56 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  Alzheimer's drugs may cause heart valve damage.Aging is a tough process and diseases such as Alzheimer's make that process even more challenging for millions of Americans, both sufferers and care givers.Two drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease may cause similar problems as the withdrawn fen-phen diet drugs, leading to heart valve damage in about one in four patients, according to two studies...

• Drug Coated Stents Increase Risk of Blood-Clot Fivefold

  IB Contributor | December 10, 2006 1:38 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  An ever increasing amount of evidence strongly supports our position that drug-coated (-eluding) stents, when compared to bare-metal stents, significantly increase the risk of blood clot formation long after they are implanted in a patient. Heart attacks can be triggered from these blood clots. We are actively pursuing Boston Scientific Corporation (Taxus stent) and Cordis, a subsidiary of...