FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Paxil so many side effects so little time...

  Allison Snoddy | June 26, 2007 4:16 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  Paxil is a prescription drug approved to treat depression, general anxiety disorder, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder. Although the FDA approved Paxil in 1993, there are many side effects that users should be aware of. Studies show that nearly twenty percent of all clinical trial patients in Paxil studies have had to discontinue treatment because...

• Avandia Warning

  Robert Binstock | June 20, 2007 9:54 AM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  The FDA has been criticizing the handling of Avandia for the past three weeks now. Avandia was the subject of a meta-analysis, which is an overview of the results of many smaller studies. In the study, it was found that those taking Avandia had a 43% greater chance of death or heart attack than those not taking the drug. The data was being reviewed and the reputations of Glaxo and the FDA was...

• FDA Issues Safety Alert on Avandia

  Vickye Young | June 01, 2007 4:03 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  On May 21, 2007,the FDA issued a safety alert about Avandia (rosiglitazone maleate) after a study in the New England Journal of Medicine linked the popular diabetes drug to a 43% increase in the risk of heart attack and a 64% increase in the risk of death from all cardiovascular causes. Avandia has become a blockbuster drug for GlaxoSmithKline; since Avandia's launch, over 6 million Americans...

• Use Of Avandia Increases Risk Of Heart Attack And Death

  John Ghezzi | May 23, 2007 6:12 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  The diabetes drug Avandia, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has been associated with a significantly higher incidence of heart attacks and death according to a major research analysis conducted by doctors at the renowned Cleveland Clinic and reported May 21, 2007 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Avandia, generically rosiglizatone, was found to have a 43% greater risk of heart attack...

• BAUSCH & LOMB AGREES TO BUYOUT OFFER

  Vickye Young | May 17, 2007 12:23 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  Bausch & Lomb, the eye-care company which last year was forced to recall one of the its contact lens solutions after it was linked to a fungal infection that can cause blindness, said Wednesday it has agreed to be acquired by Warburg Pincus for 4.5 billion.Bausch & Lomb came under fire when a cluster of infections surfaced in Asia in the fall of 2005 and an unusual number of victims began...

• Arcoxia, that's a "No-Go" per the FDA

  Tiffany Farr | April 27, 2007 4:45 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  Arcoxia, Merck's latest in its line of Cox-2 inhibitors, has received a non-approval letter from the FDA. Currently on the market in 63 countries, Arcoxia has been marketed for arthritis relief and currently contributes roughly $265 million a year in sales for Merck. The FDA has said that in order for Arcoxia to be approved in the United States, Merck "needs to provide more test results...

• Zelnorm Recall

  Vickye Young | April 03, 2007 3:19 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  At the request of the US Food and Drug Administration, Zelnorm (tegaserod maleate), an irritable bowel syndrome drug manufactured by Swiss drugmaker Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, has been recalled.Approved in 2002 by the FDA, Zelnorm was prescribed to women for short-term treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, and in 2004 for men and women younger than 65 with chronic...

• Merck Wins First Vioxx Trial in MIdwest

  John Ghezzi | March 28, 2007 4:05 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  Merck has won the first Vioxx trial conducted in the Midwest. Yesterday, in Madison County, Illinois--a county nationally known for juries that tend to award generous plaintiff's verdicts--a jury rendered a defense verdict in a claim brought by the estate of Patty Schwaller.In siding with Merck, the jury concluded that Vioxx was not a "proximate cause" in Ms. Schwaller's death. She had taken the...

• Benefits of Drug-Coated Stents Outweigh Risks

  Tiffany Farr | March 23, 2007 12:54 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  A study released has shown that drug-eluting stents carry a greater risk for blood clots and heart attacks than older metal versions. Though the risk is quite small, drug-coated stents produce a higher risk of blood clots and heartattacks between 12 and 15 months after the stents are implanted.Stents, used to expand arteries cleared of plaque- a process also known as angioplasty, have become a...

• Warning! What you buy is not necessarily what you'll get

  Tiffany Farr | February 16, 2007 9:52 AM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  The FDA has issued an alert regarding buying certain prescription drugs over the Internet. Many Americans who ordered Ambien, Xanax, Lexapro, and Ativan were shocked to learn the pills they received actually contained the anti-psychotic drug, haloperidol, more commonly known as Haldol.Used primarily to treat schizophrenia, common side effects of haloperidol include muscle stiffness, spasms,...