GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the world’s second-biggest drugmaker, withheld birth-defect data tied to its antidepressant drug Paxil from physicians as the number of reports grew, a psychiatrist testified. Doctors seeking information about birth defects linked to Paxil originally got the total numbers of side-effect reports about the issue from Glaxo, Dr. David…
Articles Posted in Product Liability
Glaxo Executive’s Memo Suggested Burying Drug Studies
An executive of GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the world’s second-biggest drugmaker, talked about burying negative studies linking its antidepressant drug Paxil to birth defects, according to a company memo introduced at a trial. “If neg, results can bury,” Glaxo executive Bonnie Rossello wrote in a 1997 memo on what the company would…
Glaxo E-Mails Over Paxil Study Must Be Turned Over
GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s e-mail with researchers studying birth defects allegedly caused by the drugmaker’s antidepressant Paxil must be turned over to a family suing over the drug. U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner in Boston refused to block William Seale’s family from reviewing e-mails and other communications between Glaxo and Boston University…
FDA Warns Bayer Maker of Yaz and Yasmin
U.S. health regulators have warned drugmaker Bayer over quality control issues at a plant that makes the key ingredient in Yaz and other popular birth control drugs. In a warning letter posted online Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration said its inspectors uncovered testing problems at the company’s plant in…
Merck Lawsuit Over Fosamax ends in Mistrial
A lawsuit alleging that Merck & Co’s osteoporosis drug Fosamax caused jaw damage ended in a mistrial on Friday . U.S. District Judge John Keenan declared the mistrial two days giving the New York jury considering the case a “cooling off period” in light of supposed acrimony among jurors. A…
Kugel Mesh Patches and Hernia Surgery Side Effects
The Kugel Mesh Patch, a medical device that was commonly used in surgeries to repair hernias, was recalled in 2005, 2006, and again in 2007 after patients suffered painful bowel perforations and other chronic injuries. The patch, placed inside the body following hernia-repair surgery to prevent tearing or the formation…
Family of Texas Musician Who Died On Stop-Smoking Drug Chantix Sues Maker
Relatives of a Texas musician who died in 2007 after acting bizarrely while taking the smoking-cessation drug Chantix have filed a lawsuit against the drug’s maker, Pfizer, accusing the company of failing to warn of suicidal thoughts and other dangerous psychiatric side effects associated with the medication. The death of…
Flip Over Handlebars Leads Bike Rider to File Product Liability Suit
While riding his bicycle, Scott Warren says he was thrown over the handlebars and onto the pavement when the pedal suddenly broke. Warren filed a product liability lawsuit against Pacific Cycle, Dorel Industries Inc, Catic Bicycle Co., and Whole Man Enterprise Co. on Dec. 15, 2008, in the 366th judicial…
Merck Loses Bid to Dismiss 24 Fosamax Lawsuits
Merck & Co. lost a legal bid to dismiss 24 lawsuits claiming its osteoporosis drug Fosamax causes ‘jaw death’ in patients who took the medicine for fewer than three years. U.S. District Judge John Keenan in New York, in a ruling released today refused to dismiss the lawsuits, saying that…
Miss. Chinese Drywall Lawsuits Filed Post-Katrina
Chinese drywall could become the new asbestos – a building substance that’s the target of a growing number of lawsuits. About 150 lawsuits already have been filed over Chinese drywall, including about a dozen in Mississippi, and the number is growing almost daily, based upon federal court records. The cases…