Colorado updates in category: FDA & Prescription Drugs

Getting away with murder? That’s a pretty harsh question to ask when talking about a drug company. But, I question the policy of drug maker, Baxter International to leave a product on the market for...

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...

“Protecting and Promoting Your Health.” That’s the tag line posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration web site. Protecting and promoting your health, doesn’t seem to have the same meaning to...

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....

In a rare display of bipartisanship, both Republican and Democratic Senators agreed the Food and Drug Administration is under funded for next year. “To us, it’s clear that they’re seriously under...

The American College of Cardiology has recommended that the popular drugs Vytorin and Zetia should only be used after all other cholesterol lowering drugs fail. The panel's spokesman, Harlan...

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...

A second manufacturer of pre-filled Heparin syringes has issued a drug recall for 32 lots of product. The syringes were manufactured by Covidien who received components for making Heparin from the...

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...

Actavis Inc., in conjunction with the FDA, is recalling 14 lots of its Fentanyl transdermal system CII patches because the patches have a defect that can cause them to leak. The Fentanyl patches were available from wholesalers and pharmacies throughout the United States. Fentanyl patches sold in Europe are not affected by this recall.The 14 lots of Fentanyl transdermal system patches being...

A staggering new report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration stated that 3.1 million Americans ages 12 to 25 have used an over-the-counter cough and cold medicine in order get high.Cough syrups and cold pills are being used in large doses to get high and induce hallucinations for young people. The 2006 survey was completed with 45,000 people ages 12 to 25...

It's been since 2004 that Merck & Co., one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, has taken the pain medication Vioxx off of the shelves. Finally, on November 9th, Merck settled the numerous Vioxx lawsuits with agreeing to pay $4.85 billion. It appears that the Vioxx manufacturer finally recognized, after obtaining mixed results in the early Vioxx cases it forced to trial, that a...

The antibleeding drug Trasylol has been pulled from the market around the world after a study has shown there may be an increased risk of death from use. The drug is used during heart bypass surgery. The announcement came as a Canadian study comparing the safety and efficacy of Trasylol with two others was halted. Preliminary results from that trial also suggested Trasylol increased the risk...

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...

Last month a federal grand jury indicted 18 people on charges stemming from fraud to racketeering over their participation in an international online pharmaceutical sales ring. The company's name was Affpower, and by the time the federal government had shut the sales operation down, Affpower had moved over $126 million in illegally prescribed pharmaceuticals.The arrests haven't managed to stem...