FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Merck's general counsel gets a raise

  Staff Writer | November 06, 2006 10:41 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  The Philadelphia Inquirer reported today that drug maker Merck & Company's general counsel just earned a promotion and 13 percent raise to $780,000 a year. The general counsel has been instrumental in the company's defense against more than 21,000 Vioxx lawsuits. The defective drug Vioxx was recalled after it was reported to cause heart attacks, strokes, blood clots and other dangerous medical...

• Philadelphia judge rules against drug companies

  Staff Writer | November 01, 2006 9:59 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  On Oct. 17, 2006, victims of drug companies' failure to warn were victorious in a Philadelphia U.S. District Court ruling. Judge Stewart Dalzell ruled against the claims by drug maker Novartis that FDA regulations and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act "preempt state failure ot warn tort claims."An Association of Trial Lawyers Association memo details the issues at hand:The issue of FDA...

• Vioxx litigation costly for Merck

  Staff Writer | October 30, 2006 12:00 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  Last week The Wall Street Journal online's Law Blog reported that Merck & Company spends more than $1 million a day in legal costs, primarily on exploding Vioxx litigation. In 2006 alone, Merck has spent $325 million on Vioxx legal bills. Third quarter earnings were down 34 percent from this time last year. How long will Merck be able to keep up these costly bills? An excerpt from the blog...

• How do defective drugs get through the system?

  Staff Writer | October 27, 2006 1:09 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  In order for a prescription or over-the-counter drug to be available for sale, it must undergo a long and complicated process with pharmaceutical company and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before receiving approval. This process takes an average of four years and a great investment on the part of pharmaceutical companies. There are also many phases of testing for a drug to undergo before...

• Drug Firms Push Industry Agenda at FDA

  Tom Methvin | October 24, 2006 2:16 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  The drug industry should never be allowed to have its way with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by way of its funding of agency programs. Yet, that has happened on a continuing basis for at least the past ten years. Now, the FDA is bargaining with the industry for an increase in fees, giving the industry an even greater role in shaping the priorities of its supposed regulator. If this...

• Long-Standing Problems At FDA Confirmed

  Tom Methvin | October 24, 2006 2:07 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  Over the past few years, we have frequently written about the many problems at the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Recently, a survey by the Union of Concerned Scientists confirmed what many medical and healthcare experts have felt relating to the performance of the FDA. Dr. Sidney Wolfe, Director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, issued the following statement relating to...

• The Risks Of Taking Fosamax Appear To Be Great

  Tom Methvin | October 17, 2006 2:06 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  Last month we wrote about the mounting problems associated with the popular osteoporosis drug Fosamax. Since that time it has become most apparent that the problems are widespread. As a result, the Fosamax litigation scene will be very active. Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), a disfiguring condition that leads to the breakdown of the jawbone and loss of teeth, is clearly a most serious matter....

• How Drug Companies Use And Abuse Medical Journals

  Tom Methvin | October 10, 2006 1:33 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carroll Higbee, who oversees all the Vioxx litigation in New Jersey, recently granted a new trial in a Vioxx case won by Merck in 2005. The judge reasoned that Merck had withheld evidence of three deaths from an article that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This evidence skewed the article that may have influenced thousands of physicians when...

• Schering-Plough Settles With The Federal Government

  Tom Methvin | October 04, 2006 1:35 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  Schering-Plough Corp. will pay $435 million to settle the federal government's case against the drug maker arising out of the company's drug sales and marketing practices. The federal investigation also concerned the company's clinical trial programs. Schering-Plough will pay $255 million to resolve civil aspects of the previously disclosed investigation, which involves the drugs Intron and...