FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Recall of Dietary Supplement Containing Erectile Dysfunction Drug

  Jamie Sheller | February 03, 2007 2:37 PM | 0 CommentsPhiladelphia, PA

  Liviro3, a dietary supplement made by Ebek, Inc. has been recalled. Though Liviro3 is not FDA approved to treat erectile dysfunction, it contains tadalafil, an erectile dysfunction drug. Tadalafil may lead to dangerously low blood pressure. It may also interact with the nitrates in some prescription drugs, such as drugs used to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and high...

• Trasylol Clinical Trials Halted

  Christina Cole | February 02, 2007 7:29 PM | 0 CommentsLas Vegas, NV

  Bayer HealthCare has announced they are discontinuing three clinical trials of the drug Trasylol, citing recent FDA-approved label changes. Bayer was hoping to expand the approved usage of the drug, is currently approved for use in the course of coronary artery bypass graft surgery.The trials were to investigate the safety and efficacy of Trasylol (aprotinin injection) in adults undergoing...

• Lilly Settles Zyprexa Claims

  Eddie Farah | February 01, 2007 10:07 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  Drug Giant Eli Lilly and Co. says the claims are without merit, but plans to cover more than 18,000 claims over the antipsychotic drug, Zyprexa. Plaintiffs say the drug made them gain weight causing them to develop diabetes. Lilly will pay $500 million, less than the $700 million it had agreed to pay on 8,000 claims in 2005.Referring to an article in the New York Times,"Lilly's own published...

• Therapy better than pills to treat insomnia

  Staff Writer | February 01, 2007 10:33 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  An article in the January 2007 Worst Pills Best Pills Newsletter addresses new research showing that cognitive behavioral therapy may be more effective in treating insomnia than sleeping pills like Lunesta.Eszopiclone (Lunesta) is an extremely popular drug in the U.S. to treat insomnia, with more than three million prescriptions dispensed and sales exceeding $250 million in 2005. In Europe, a...

• Prempro Verdict Nails Wyeth

  Bob Carroll | February 01, 2007 6:53 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  To a drug manufacturer, having concerns about breast-cancer risks of Prempro in 1991 does not mean it had to do anything or tell anybody. To a jury in Pennsylvania the manufacturer's silence and inaction means the conduct was malicious, wanton, willful, or oppressive, or showed reckless indifference. Wyeth Loses Prempro SuitPharmaceutical giant Wyeth was ordered by a Pennsylvania state jury to...

• Strokes Caused by Medications

  Robert Blanchard | January 31, 2007 11:00 AM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  The suits against the makers of Vioxx, Celebrex, PPA and Ortho Evra all include claims that the medication could cause strokes. Strokes a re complicated injuries and can be very severe. The difficulty in proving such claims arises from the variety of other factoors that can lead to a stroke. Some understanding of the different knds of strokes is helpful. Strokes that involve a bleeding in the...

• Warning to Cardiologists About Drug-Eluting Stents

  RLF Staff | January 31, 2007 6:44 AM | 0 CommentsDallas, TX

  physicians must be cautious in how they use drug-eluting stentsA statement warning cardiologists when treating arteries with drug-eluting stents was issued by The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI).The SCAI supports use of drug-eluting stents, but stated that physicians must be cautious in how they use them. Doctors need to carefully select patients who would benefit...

• Aranesp Has High Mortality Rate In New Study

  Lee Coleman | January 29, 2007 4:19 PM | 0 CommentsBowling Green, KY

  Amgen who makes Aranesp sent a letter out to healthcare professionals about a study it had conducted. The study showed it was ineffective in reducing RBC transfusions in patients with anemia not due to concurrent chemotherapy. It also showed a higher mortality in patients who were receiving Aranesp. This study was done comparing the medication with a placebo. This study was done to establish of...

• Prepulsid Drug Alleged to be Ineffective & Dangerous

  Christina Cole | January 25, 2007 6:20 PM | 0 CommentsSyracuse, NY

  A Canadian man whose 15-year-old daughter died after taking the prescription drug Prepulsid is now filing a class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, the drug's manufacturer.Terence Young's daughter, Vanessa, died in 2000 from a heart arrhythmia after using the drug to ease symptoms of bloating.The class action, recently certified by an Ontario judge, is seeking damages for cardiac-related...

• Antidepressant Suicide - Prosac Paxil Effexor

  Robert Blanchard | January 25, 2007 12:49 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  According to a new study, for suicidal patients who had taken antidepressants, fluoxetine (Prosac) was associated with the lowest risk for causing suicidal tendencies, as opposed to venlafaxine (Effexor) which had the highest risk, as published in the December issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. The aim of this study was to investigate, in a nationwide series of suicidal subjects, how...