FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Vioxx Docs Lobbied by Merck Now Its Foes

  Joe Saunders | March 14, 2006 10:40 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  Doctors who had been heavily courted by Merck, the manufacturer of Vioxx, are now some of the drug's most outspoken foes. In the ongoing Vioxx trial, doctors have come forward and testified that if they had been told of the potential risks the drug posed, they would never have prescribed the drug to their patients. One of the doctors, John Braun, took Vioxx for two years to treat neck pain,...

• FDA Panel Recommends Tysabri

  Joe Saunders | March 09, 2006 7:12 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  An FDA panel has recommended that the risky and controversial MS drug Tysabri be returned to the market. The panel argued that the decision to use the drug should be made by the doctor and the patient, in spite of evidence that the drug causes a deadly brain disease. If the FDA accepts the panel's recommendation, it would be only the second time a drug was returned to the market after having...

• Ambien Sleep Driving

  Joe Saunders | March 08, 2006 7:17 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  You've all seen the ads for the popular sleep aid Ambien. Yet, behind this popularity is a little known fact: the sudden rise in Ambien related impaired driver arrests. Some of those arrested state that they have no recollection of driving a vehicle prior to the arrest. In some state toxicology laboratories Ambien makes the top 10 list of drugs found in impaired drivers. And as a more...

• Truth, Not Marketing, Goal of Scientific Research

  Joe Saunders | March 07, 2006 8:53 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  According to Harold C. Sox, MD, scientific research should be directed at truth and objectivity rather than promoting the marketing initiatives of pharmaceutical companies. In an article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the doctor decries the use of fake scientific data to bolster sales of pharmaceutical drugs or medical devices. Sox further states that scientists have a duty not...

• Drug Trials Promised but Unseen by FDA

  Joe Saunders | March 06, 2006 7:15 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  The FDA has reported that 2/3 of the drugs approved by the agency remain untested and unproven. When new drugs are approved for public use, they are supposed to report the results of clinical trials to the FDA. One drug approved in 1955 has still not complied with these tests. These studies are important in that they are intended to reveal if the drugs are working as intended and whether they...

• Drug Patch Latest to be Targeted by FDA Probe

  Joe Saunders | March 05, 2006 9:20 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  In July 2005 it was the fentanyl patch used for chronic pain. The following November it was the Ortho Evra birth control patch after studies had shown women using the patch were exposed to 60% more estrogen than non-users. Now, the FDA is going to probe the entire drug patch industry for safety concerns. There are inherent issues with the patch such as increased exposure to heat. "Most...

• Pharmacy Mistakes More Than a Bitter Pill to Swallow

  Joe Saunders | March 04, 2006 11:11 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  Check out fellow Injury Board blogger Kerry Jardine's post on pharmacy mistakes.When you get a prescription filled at your drug store, make sure the pharmacist has filled it correctly. The consequences of taking the wrong prescription can be dire or fatal depending upon the severity of the mistake. Unfortunately, such mistakes are more common than you'd like to think.

• Celebrex Increases Heart Attack Risk Two-Fold, According to Study

  Joe Saunders | March 01, 2006 1:19 PM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  New Zealand's Medical Research Institute has found that Celebrex users are nearly twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as those taking other arthritis drugs, commonly known as Cox-2 inhibitors. Last August, Pfizer, the manufacturer of Celebrex, put a "black box" warning on the drug yet Celebrex stayed on the market. The black box warning is the most severe of the labels placed on...

• Kava Kava Feels Good but May Produce Harmful Consequences

  Joe Saunders | February 19, 2006 10:46 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising consumers of the potential risk of severe liver injury associated with the use of kava-containing dietary supplements. Kava (Piper methysticum) is a plant indigenous to the islands in the South Pacific where it is commonly used to prepare a traditional beverage. Supplements containing the herbal ingredient kava are promoted for relaxation (e.g.,...

• FDA to Put Warning on Ortho Evra

  Joe Saunders | February 19, 2006 10:42 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  The FDA will put a new warning on the Ortho Evra birth control patch in order to warn consumers and healthcare professionals that users may be at a much greater risk of blood clots when using the patch.Dr. Daniel Shames, director of the FDA's division of reproductive and urologic drug products, says updated labeling has been approved for the product to warn healthcare providers and patients that...