According to St. Jude Medical Inc. its Riata defibrillator leads have a higher failure rate than was disclosed when it stopped selling the product. Riata has an insulation failure rate of 0.63 percent, more than the 0.47 percent disclosed last December, according to a recent warning letter to doctors. Extractions…
Pfizer, the manufacturer of Zoloft, has filed a motion to consolidate all federal Zoloft birth defect lawsuits. Pfizer requested that they be centralized before one judge for pretrial litigation as part of a multidistrict litigation, or MDL. On January 18, Pfizer asked the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to…
A multiple sclerosis drug made by pharmaceutical giant Novartis is under intense investigation after at least 11 patients taking the medicine died. The drug, Gilenya, was licensed in 2010 in the European Union and by the FDA to treat patients with a severe type of multiple sclerosis. European Medicines Agency…
As the Band played on, another tale of corporate greed and misdeeds, in the Dark City. A Stryker Corp. (SYK) unit has pled guilty and will pay a $15 million fine. The medical-device maker was on trial on charges it marketed an unapproved mixture of products for strengthening human bone…
The FDA is blasting DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, over the selling of artificial knee and hip replacement implants without FDA approval. The FDA issued a warning letter to DePuy Orthopaedics in December about the regulatory problems, after inspectors visiting a plant in Warsaw, Indiana discovered implants…
The judge presiding over all federal Bard Avaulta vaginal mesh lawsuits has asked the parties to develop a list of potential bellwether cases. These bellwether cases would be prepared for early trial dates in the multidistrict litigation (MDL). More than 250 lawsuits over C.R. Bard vaginal mesh filed in federal…
The FDA is under fire to hold a new hearing to evaluate the safety of Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills, after conflict of interest issues have been raised regarding some of its advisory committee members. Allegedly several FDA advisory committee members who voted to keep Yaz and Yasmin on…
Merck & Co. has agreed that all Propecia lawsuits filed in federal district courts throughout the United States by men who experienced sexual problems after using their hair-loss drug should be consolidated before one judge for pretrial proceedings. Merck Prefers New Jersey Merck has suggested that the U.S. Judicial Panel…
A Kansas woman is has filed a product liability lawsuit which was allegedly caused by side effects of Cymbalta. Cymbalta is manufactured by Eli Lilly and Co. She developed a dangerous skin reaction, known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Nanci Matos, filed the Cymbalta lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the…
Topamax can result in serious birth defects such as cleft palate or cleft lip. These occur when parts of the soft and hard palate fail to completely fuse together. The defect can result in a notched lip, or in severe cases, an open groove that extends from the nose to…