FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Paxil Preemption Ruling Overturned

  Scott Kappes | July 24, 2008 4:17 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  A federal judge in Indiana has vacated his previous ruling that wrongful death claims brought against the makers of Paxil were preempted by federal regulations. This reversal will now allow...

• Former VA Secretary Turned Lobbyist, Questioned VA About Chantix

  Scott Kappes | July 09, 2008 6:01 PM | 2 CommentsHouston, TX

  A new report from the Washington Times today claims that former Veterans' Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi called on his friends at the VA for answers concerning Pfizer’s smoking cessation...

• Families of Heparin Victims Tell Their Stories

  Scott Kappes | April 30, 2008 2:10 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  Yesterday the families of some of those who lost lives after being treated with a contaminated blood thinner, Heparin, told their stories to a House committee. The congressional panel listened...

• Chantix: Most Commonly Searched Prescription

  Scott Kappes | April 25, 2008 2:03 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  The data is out and Pfizer’s prescription stop smoking aid Chantix was the most commonly searched medication on the Internet in the month of February. According to comScore, an Internet...

• Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Pre-Teen Murder Case

  Scott Kappes | April 16, 2008 10:53 AM | 3 CommentsHouston, TX

  Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeals case of a South Carolina adolescent that was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole, at the age of 12,...

• Researcher Claims Bayer Hid Data on Trasylol

  Scott Kappes | April 07, 2008 5:08 PM | 1 CommentHouston, TX

  Last fall an FDA panel unanimously voted in favor of keeping Bayer’s Trasylol on the market. The panel was convened after a New England Journal of Medicine article suggested that the drug put...

• Watch Dog Group Calls For Black-Box Warning For Chantix

  Scott Kappes | April 03, 2008 7:56 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  Over the past year the reports of adverse reactions to Pfizer’s smoking cessation drug Chantix have been mounting at a furious pace. After an analysis of the adverse events associated with Chantix,...

• Over 40 Patients Infected By Syringes Contaminated With Bacteria

  Scott Kappes | December 20, 2007 2:59 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  The Serratia marcescens bacteria infected hospital patients in both Texas and Illinois when contaminated syringes were used to administer medication to them. In all 41 patients have been treated for the infection from the contaminated syringes. Over 20 patents were infected a Rush Medical Center in Chicago and another 20 caught the infection at a Dallas area oncology clinic. Seirra Pre-Filled...

• Background of Medtronic Lead Recalls

  Scott Kappes | November 01, 2007 2:44 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  The FDA has issued a Class I Recall of Medtronic Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads due to fracture risk that can result in unwarranted shocks being applied to the implanted patient's heart. In the case of this recall, it seems that physicians at the Minnesota Heart Institute made the company aware of possible problem back in February, when for two days in a row they had patients claim that they...

• Did Medtronic Wait Too Long to Pull Leads?

  Scott Kappes | October 31, 2007 5:29 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  A story published in the Wall Street Journal claims that Medtronic may have had knowledge of problems with their Sprit Fidelis defibrillator leads as far back as February but did not act until October. Last week the FDA issued a Class I Recall on the leads in question after two reports surfaced of people experiencing unwarranted shocks from their defibrillators. One 65-year-old woman claims that...