Drug intoxication defense breaks new South Carolina legal ground: Pittman /Zoloft trial Sun, 13 Feb 2005 In South Carolina, temporary insanity does not influence punishment. If found guilty of murder – whether by reason of insanity or not, the sentence is 30 years to life with no parole. Defense attorneys…
Asthma Drug trial Halted -Health Risk Are Suspected Mon, 17 Mar 2003 A spate of recent articles have shown that pharmaceutical companies suppress the publication of negative findings about their products. However, that is not the only way these companies keep physicians and patients uninformed about adverse drug effects. Another…
Glaxo Pricing Under DOJ investigation / GAO Report Says Medicaid Overpays for Drugs Wed, 9 Mar 2005 Reuters reports that GlaxoSmithKline is under investigation by the Department of Justice concerning Medicaid drug pricing. The skyrocketing cost of drugs is depleting Medicaid, the nation’s largest health insturance program paid for by…
Drug safety Hearings-Sept-Congress/ FDA – Lilly Plans to Disclose Data Tue, 3 Aug 2004 A hearing about the possible connection between suicide and antidepressant drugs will be held on Aug 4, by the California Senate by Sen. Tom Torkalson, chairman of the Senate Task Force on Youth and Workplace Wellness…
Doctors On the Take-Engaging in Vairous Dubious Activities for Cash / Stock Options Tue, 16 Aug 2005 A series of current articles in The Wall Street Journal, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and the New York Times describe the many questionable non-medical income-producing activities that America¹s physicians…
FDA Requires Bar Codes on Drugs-IG resigns Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 On a positive note, the FDA has finally come up with a proposal to cut medical errors in hospitals. Drug manufacturers will be required to put drug bar codes on every prescription drug to protect patients from fatal…
Another deadly drug recalled – FDA asks Congress for Power to Dictate Warnings Tue, 1 Mar 2005 Public pressure has intensified as FDA’s failure to protect the public from unsafe – even lethal drugs. That failure included the failure to at least warn physicians and the public about severe adverse…
Hoffman LaRoche Rebuffed Call to Monitor Accutane Users – USA Today Tue, 7 Dec 2004 An investigative cover story in USA Today – Drugmaker Rebuffed Call to Monitor Users–affirms the indispensable role of litigation in bringing the facts about adverse drug effects to public knowledge. Lawsuits against Hoffman-La Roche, manufacturer…
Selling Sickness: Pharma Industry Turning Us All Into Patients Mon, 12 Sep 2005 Related Link: Selling Sickness Prologue Selling Sickness: How the World’s Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All Into Patients, by Ray Moynihan, an international health journalist, and Alan Cassels, a pharmaceutical policy researcher, is likely to become a…
Unreported Paxil suicides: company abandons “No Addiction” claim Sat, 10 May 2003 GlaxoSmithKline, Britain’s biggest pharmaceutical company will change the label in the UK to reflect the severe withdrawal that its antidepressant drug, Seroxat (Paxil in US) generates in many patients. In Britain, the package label will no longer claim…
Disingenous Remarks from AMA President on Tort Reform – letter BMJ / NYT Test a Lawyer’s Ingenuity Sun, 6 Mar 2005 Responding to an article in the BMJ about President Bush’s bill to restrict class action suits for medical malpractice-http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7490/499-c – the president of the American Medical Association, Dr. John…
UK Doctors told to stop giving antidepressants to children – Glaxo Warns of Paxil Birth Defects Wed, 28 Sep 2005 Related Link – See Guidelines at: http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=273073 The UK National Health Service has taken a decisive, responsible step to protect the lives of children who are being exposed to serious risks…
