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Jury awards $8.3 million in first DePuy hip verdict

June 27, 2014

A jury in Los Angeles has awarded a total of $8.3 million in damages to a Montana man who received a DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip implant in 2007. The jurors said manufacturer Johnson & Johnson was negligent but didn’t owe punitive damages to Loren “Bill” Kransky, a retired prison guard. Johnson & Johnson recalled 93,000 DePuy implants in 2010, after finding that 12 percent of the devices failed within five years. Analysts say the lawsuits could cost J&J billions of dollars to resolve. Kransky’s lawyers alleged that Johnson & Johnson failed to properly test the device, downplayed complaints of failures … More

NYTimes: Doctors Who Don’t Speak Out

May 23, 2014

An interesting article From The New York Times Doctors Who Don’t Speak Out While experts say that doctors have an ethical obligation to warn their peers about bad drugs or medical devices, they don’t always do so. Full Article More

FDA to expand warnings about potentially contaminated drugs

April 23, 2014

“More patients will soon be told they received potentially contaminated drugs from the New England Compounding Center, whose products already are associated with 297 illnesses and 23 deaths. On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration posted on its website a list of more than 1,200 hospitals and clinics that had purchased steroids and other drugs from NECC that if contaminated would be especially dangerous for patients.” Read the full article. More

Meningitis Outbreak Symbol of Health Care Crisis

March 5, 2014

During the campaign for President this election season, candidates have debated the merits of a government-sponsored health care coverage system for Americans. Although there has been a lot of discussion about pre-existing conditions and affordability of care, there has been little to no discussion about drug safety. The recent outbreak of fungal meningitis illustrates how important an issue drug safety is to American health. The outbreak first gained attention at the beginning of October, when a Tennessee man developed fungal meningitis and investigators traced the fungus back to a compounding pharmacy that manufactures injectable medications such as back steroid medications. … More

Meningitis Outbreak Not the Only Drug Contamination Issue In Recent Years

January 7, 2014

The recent outbreak of fungal meningitis, which has been linked with contaminated steroid injections, is the most serious such outbreak in US history. This problem has led to 14,000 exposures and almost 200 deaths. Unfortunately, this is not the first such outbreak America has seen as a result of using compounding pharmacies, and it is not likely to be the last. Compounding pharmacies create customized medications for people who can’t take standard medications. They are used for a wide range of medications. Many cancer medications come from compounding pharmacies, as do flavored cold medications for young children. These pharmacies are … More