FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Top 10 Deadliest Drugs

  Linda Snyder | April 08, 2008 4:31 PM | 3 CommentsFort Collins, CO

  In 1988, the AIDS activist group ACT UP staged a protest that led to a dramatic change in the US Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) drug approval process. Previously, the drug approval process was...

• Fentanyl Tablets Warning From FDA, Cephalon Oncology

  Courtney Mills | September 13, 2007 1:28 PM | 0 CommentsGrand Junction, CO

  The FDA has issued on its MedWatch page an announcement about the publication of two "Dear Healthcare Professional" letters from Cephalon Oncology about potential dangers of their fentanyl buccal tablets.Fentora is manufactured by Cephalon oncology and is indicated in the treatment of breakthrough cancer pains. Fentanyl tablets are not appropriate for patients suffering from post-operative...

• Pharmaceutical Companies Spend Twice as Much on Marketing than on Research and Development

  Linda Snyder | March 11, 2008 7:42 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  PLOS Medicine, an online medical journal conducted a study using numbers from 2004 and concluded that pharmaceutical companies spent almost twice as much on marketing than on their research and development for their United States markets.As a marketing person, on the one hand I am in awe of these marketing budgets, in excess of $57.5 billion dollars. But as a consumer, I'm a bit dismayed that...

• Experts say Levalbuterol Inhaler same as Albuterol

  Staff Writer | February 05, 2007 10:38 AM | 0 CommentsGrand Junction, CO

  WorstPills.org recommends that patients using levalbuterol (Xopenex HFA) consider using the older and less expensive asthma inhaler albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin).They also recommend that before stopping use of any drug, you should consult your physician. WorstPills.org reports that levalbuterol does not offer any benefits over albuterol; it just costs more.The editors of the highly respected...

• Lyrica added to Worst Pills do not use list

  Staff Writer | February 05, 2007 10:17 AM | 0 CommentsColorado Springs, CO

  WorstPills.org posted in January an alert saying that consumers should not used Lyrica to treat neuropathic pain because of the potential risks and side effects.Lyrica (pregabalin), manufactured by Pfizer, is often used to treat epilepsy. WorsPills.org specifically recommends not to use this drug until 2012, or seven years after FDA approval. This means that they believe the drug needs more...

• Avandia Gets Black Box Warning Label

  Shannon Weidemann | August 16, 2007 10:17 AM | 0 CommentsColorado Springs, CO

  The FDA has issued that the diabetes drug Avandia should carry a black box warning label for possible heart failure related to taking the drug. The warning labels will appear on all drugs in the thiazolidinedione class. GlaxoSmithKline is the manufacturer of Avandia. "This new boxed warning addresses FDA's concerns that despite the warnings and information already listed in the drug labels,...

• Let the FDA Do Its Job? I Don't Think So.

  Linda Snyder | May 02, 2008 1:49 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  What planet does Diane Bieri live on? It’s certainly not on the planet earth that I live on. In her commentary, Opposing view: Let FDA do its job, Ms. Bieri goes on and on about how the outcome of a...

• So what is an MDL?

  Staff Writer | April 19, 2006 9:31 AM | 2 CommentsDenver, CO

  Many folks have recently seen or perhaps heard of the Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra, Ortho Evra, Guidant and Medtronic "MDLs" in the media. So what is an "MDL"? Well, its shorthand for multidistrict litigation. The first thing you need to know about multidistrict litigation is that its not the same thing as a class action. A class action is a lawsuit where a few people sue on behalf of themselves and...

• The Heparin Debacle Part One

  Linda Snyder | April 22, 2008 8:50 PM | 0 CommentsColorado Springs, CO

  Remember what it felt like as a kid when you went into a candy store and you were overwhelmed with how many choices of sweets lay before you? When I read the New York Times article, U.S....

• What is Alexidine?

  Staff Writer | May 10, 2006 10:20 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  Alexidine is a disinfectant that traditionally has been used in mouthwash solutions. Its first use in contact lens solutions was in ReNu with MoistureLoc, thus it is a "new" product in this arena. It is believed that Alexidine is the cause or is a partial cause of the problems with this product. The current theory is that ReNu with MoistureLoc does not have sufficient disinfectant efficacy --...