Ending Clinical Trials Early May Taint Drug Effectiveness
Clinical trials of drugs generally report positive and negative results. Those results are then analyzed to determine whether a drug is safe for the general public’s use. However, a newly published study says that when clin ...

NuvaRing Linked To Increased Risks of Blood Clotting
NuvaRing, a contraceptive drug manufactured by Schering-Plough Corporation and Organon Biosciences NV, has been linked to increased risks of blood clotting, the death of a New Jersey woman and is the subject of at least 50 la ...

FDA Says Global Economy Means It Can’t Be Pharmaceutical Watchdog
The Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research recently told a Senate panel that the global economy means that the Administration cannot be a pharmaceutical watchdog for ...

Major Drug Recalls Associated With Heart Surgeries: An Overview
Recalls of drugs used in heart surgeries seem to be escalating. In the past few months, drugs such as Digitek, Heparin and Trasylol have all been recalled for one reason or another. Unless you’re a doctor or pharmacist, kee ...

Congress Accuses Drug Companies Of Misleading Consumers
How many television ads have you seen touting the benefits of a drug? For most people, the answer to the question would be – too many. A large number of drug advertisements seem to promise the world – something that certain ...

Former FDA Commissioner Says FDA Can’t Do Its Job
David Kessler, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Commissioner from 1990 – 1997 has testified in front of Congress that the FDA simply can’t do its job with its current resources. Kessler, along with actor Dennis ...

Congress Says Drug & Medical Device Makers Should Be Held Responsible
Even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that injured patients were preempted from suing medical device makers, many in Congress believe that drug and medical device manufacturers should be held responsible for their actions – ...

Sleep Aid Ambien Linked To Bizarre Behavior – And Public Figures
The popular sleep aid, Ambien, may help some consumers get a good night’s sleep, but others have reported engaging in bizarre behavior after taking the drug. In fact, Ambien continues to make headlines as more and more consu ...

Congress Investigating Indian Drug Giant Ranbaxy
A Congressional panel is investigating whether Indian drug giant, Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited falsified drug data to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and whether the FDA knowingly allowed Ranbaxy to distribute suspe ...

FDA Orders Braun, Baxter and Hospira to Stop Marketing Unapproved Products
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered several U.S. pharmaceutical companies to stop marketing unapproved ophthalmic balanced salt solutions (BSS), used to irrigate the eye during surgery on the eye, and unappr ...

Shows Daily COPD Drugs May Increase Risk of Death By 58%
A recently released study of commonly used COPD drugs shows a 58% increase in the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attacks and strokes for people who use the drugs on a daily basis. It is estimated that nearly 12 million ...

Pharmaceutical Companies May Be Liable For Injuries from Generic Drugs
As the nation waits to hear the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wyeth v. Levine and whether pharmaceutical companies can be liable for patient injuries, some of that focus has shifted to a California case that may open up a ...

FDA Scientists Accuse Agency of Serious Misconduct
Eight U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists have accused top FDA officials of serious misconduct in their approval of medical devices that the scientists say are unsafe or ineffective.

Internal Documents Show That FDA & Bush Administration at Odds over Preemption
11/3/08: Internal government documents revealed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Bush Administration have actually been at odds when it comes to preemption of lawsuits against drug manufacturers. The docum ...

FDA Accuses Bayer of Mislabeling and Misbranding Aspirins
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a letter to German-based pharmaceutical giant Bayer, already under fire over the Trasylol scandal, and is accusing the drug maker of misbranding, mislabeling and confusing ...

Ethex Corporation Recalls More Products; Warns Of Overdose
The Ethex Corporation, the Missouri-based subsidiary of the KV Pharmaceutical Company, has issued another recall of its drugs that were released in oversized forms which may cause serious injury or death. This is the company ...

Proposed FDA Warning Requirements Not Consumer Friendly
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed that drug companies should not be able to change warning labels to alert consumers about potential unsafe conditions with their products without first receiving FDA approval ...

Study Finds Drug Makers Not Reporting All Trial Results
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) found that manufacturers of antidepressant medication often don’t publish drug trials that show negative results – leaving doctors and consumers without a ...

Consumer Group Claims Botox Injections Linked To 16 Deaths
Public Citizen, the national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, recently petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately increase warnings and to directly warn patients and doctors about the use of bo ...

FDA Gets More Money – But Will It Really Help Consumers?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been criticized for not adequately protecting the public from injuries sustained from food, drugs and medical devices. The FDA itself recently told Congress that it needs more money ...

Congressmen Say FDA’s Relationship with Drug Industry ‘Too Cozy’
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has come under a great deal of scrutiny for its handling of food safety, medical device review and drug approval. Although the FDA’s job is to regulate these industries, some Congressme ...

Tysabri Linked To Liver Damage
Tysabri, a drug used to treat patients with multiple sclerosis and Chrone’s disease, may cause liver damage within six days of use according to new information from the drug’s manufacturer’s Biogen Idec, Inc. and Elan Pharmac ...

Study Shows Procrit and Aranesp Use May Increase Risk of Death
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (AMA) reports that cancer patients taking Ortho Biotech’s (a Johnson & Johnson company) Procrit and Amgen Inc.’s Aranesp, both anemia drugs used to trea ...

Supreme Court Allows Rezulin Case to Continue against Pfizer/Warner-Lambert
In a split decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling against drug manufacturing giant, Pfizer, Inc. and allowed a lawsuit alleging that Pfizer’s diabetes drug, Rezulin, caused injuries to a group of Michiga ...

Senator Asks GAO to Investigate FDA Processes
Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) follows through on drug approvals. The investigation comes at a time when an ...

FDA Targets Asthma Drug Manufacturers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that it is seeking additional information from drug manufacturers about their asthma products such as GlaxoSmithKine’s Serevent and Advair, Novartis AG’s and Schering Ploug ...

Consumer Product Safety Commission May Get Much Needed Facelift
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may be getting a facelift if either a House or Senate bill becomes law. Consumer advocates say that a facelift is a long time coming as the Commission has been the subject of cri ...

FDA Investigating Association of Singulair Use with Suicide
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in an Early Communication warning that it is investigating a possible association between Merck & Co, Inc.’s asthma and allergy drug, Singular, to suicide, behavior/mood c ...

AAJ Says FDA Allowing Drug Companies to Run Show
The American Association for Justice (AAJ) thinks that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is allowing drug companies to run the show by giving them immunity when they fail to warn the public about a drug’s potential ...

Regranex: FDA Reports Possible Increased Cancer Risk
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that it has received study information that may increase the risk of cancer in patients with diabetes who applied the topical drug, Regranex, directly to their foot or leg. ...

Ziagen & Videx Linked To Increased Risks of Heart Attacks
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing newly received information on the increased risks of heart attacks for HIV-1 patients who are taking Ziagen or Videx as part of their drug therapy.

FDA Requests Safety Plans for 25 Drugs
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will seek Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) from 25 drugs and biologic products by September 21, 2008.

Study Shows 11% of Children Experience Adverse Drug Reactions While Hospitalized
A new study by the Child Health Corporation of America (CHCA) shows that over 11 percent of children experience adverse drug reactions while hospitalized – a much higher number than originally thought. Parents, such as Denni ...