FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Drug Safety Becoming A Problem: Death From Drugs Increases

  Jenny Albano | September 12, 2007 12:31 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  Deaths and serious injuries from popular drugs has almost tripled from 1998 to 2005, an analysis of U.S. drug data found. Deaths and injuries from medications increased from 34,966 to 89,842 during the study of reports to the FDA. They analyzed excerpts of reports on serious side effects received by the FDA between January 1998 and December 2005. A total of 467,809 serious complications were...

• Should drug makers disclose doctors on payroll?

  Staff Writer | July 20, 2007 11:19 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  An article from WorstPills.org's press room (http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2467) details the testimony of a physician before a Senate Commitee. Dr. Peter Lurie argued that Federal Law should mandate pharmaceutical companies to make their payments to doctors public knowledge. "Current state laws that require the disclosure of pharmaceutical company payments to physicians are...

• Dangerous Avandia side effects reported

  Staff Writer | July 03, 2007 11:29 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  The May 2007 New England Journal of Medicine published a sudy on the possible risks of using Avandia, a popular type 2 diabetes drug. Widely prescribed by physicians, Avandia (generic name rosiglitazone) has been linked with heart attack and heart failure, according to the study. An article from WorstPills.org (http://www.worstpills.org/member/newsletter.cfm?n_id=538) details the findings:"These...

• Alli Side-Effects May Outweigh Benefits

  Staff Writer | June 18, 2007 9:32 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  A new diet drug has hit the shelves with the FDA's approval, but users may want to be wary of the side effects. Alli, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is supposed to help people lose 50% more weight than other dietary supplements.Alli blocks enzymes that digest fat, preventing the body from absorbing about a quarter of the fat eaten. The undigested fat is then excreted. One study of Alli showed...

• More information about Lybrel

  Staff Writer | May 29, 2007 8:11 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  In the news this past week, you may have heard about a new birth control pill called Lybrel, which frees women from the nuisance of having a menstrual period. Lybrel was approved by the FDA and should be in pharmacies sometime this summer. The new drug is a low-dose version of the traditional birth control pill, and it contains 90 micrograms levonorgestrel and 20 micrograms ethinyl estradiol. It...

• Consumers beware of TV drug ads

  Staff Writer | May 27, 2007 11:06 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  An article from the WorstPills.org newsletter (http://www.worstpills.org/member/newsletter_pdf.cfm?n_id=528) this month warns consumers to be wary of television drug ads funded by big pharmaceutical companies. Many of these ads introduce new drugs to consumers and ask them to speak to their physicians about the benefits of using them. The ads for these medications mean big money to...

• Avandia scare worries diabetes patients

  Staff Writer | May 25, 2007 9:41 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  A story from Savannah/Hilton Head's channel 3 WSAV says a man who has been taking Avandia for four years fears the drug has worsened his heart condition and risk for heart attack.The recent report published in medical journal detailing the increased heart attack risks associated with use of Avandia, a popular medication for patients with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.The...

• GlaxoSmithKline to settle over Paxil lawsuits

  Staff Writer | April 27, 2007 4:50 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  A judge said this week he plans to approve a $64 million settlement between GlaxoSmithKline and parents of minors who took the defective drug without knowing the possible side effects, including suicidal thoughts and withdrawal symptoms, among others. The plaintiffs of the class action lawsuit against the second largest drug maker in the world claim that the company did not adequately warn...

• Group petitions to FDA to ban some oral contraceptives

  Staff Writer | February 23, 2007 3:45 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  Public Citizen, a nonprofit national public interest organization, sent a petition to the FDA earlier this month urging them to ban third generation oral contraceptives that increase the risk of blood clots (venous thrombosis) and death.The petition specifically requests the following:Public Citizen, representing more than 100,000 consumers nationwide, hereby petitions the Food and Drug...

• Therapy better than pills to treat insomnia

  Staff Writer | February 01, 2007 10:33 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  An article in the January 2007 Worst Pills Best Pills Newsletter addresses new research showing that cognitive behavioral therapy may be more effective in treating insomnia than sleeping pills like Lunesta.Eszopiclone (Lunesta) is an extremely popular drug in the U.S. to treat insomnia, with more than three million prescriptions dispensed and sales exceeding $250 million in 2005. In Europe, a...