The Boston Globe recently reported that the F.D.A. is considering the rare move of revoking their approval of the breast cancer drug Avastin because the benefits of the drug may not outweigh the risks. Medical experts made a recommendation to the F.D.A. earlier this year condemning the drug due to its potential toxic side effects and extremely high cost. Recent studies show Avastin does not prolong a users’ life for any considerable amount of time. Experts say Avastin has drastic side effects, including “blood clots, bleeding, and heart failure.” Rob Stein, Boston Globe 08/16/2010

The Lawyers leading a class-action lawsuit against Toyota are saying they found documentation that proves that some Toyota officials were aware of the potential for sudden acceleration in their vehicles as early as 2003, according to a recent article in The Washington Post. It is reported that a field technician for Toyota discovered the problem and wrote that the issue was an “extremely dangerous problem,” saying “we are also much afraid of frequency of this problem in near future.” Toyota has issued recalls of millions of their vehicles earlier this year for unintended acceleration. This is alleged to have caused injuries and deaths of some Toyota drivers.
The Washington Post, 08/03/2010

GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. has agreed to a $1 Billion settlement that will cover 800 claims that the company’s drug Paxil causes birth defects, according to a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The company paid $2.5 million to a Pennsylvania boy who allegedly suffers from severe heart defects because of Paxil. Glaxo has set aside a total of $2.4 billion to settle various lawsuits involving Paxil and another drug, the company’s diabetes drug Avandia.
Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/21/2010

The New York Times reports that recently released court documents suggest that drugmaker Wyeth was behind more than two dozen ghostwritten articles published in medical journals from 1998 to 2005 that significantly advanced the use of hormone replacement treatments in women. The articles, commission by drug maker Wyeth, touted the benefits of the hormone drugs Premarin and Prempro while downplaying potential risks. Later studies determined that some hormone therapies increased the risk of a variety of health problems among menopausal women. Article by Natasha Singer, The New York Times 08/04/2009

There has been a settlement in a lawsuit that claimed Merck and Schering-Plough conspired to delay the release of studies that showed Vytorin was no more effective than other less expensive cholesterol drugs that have been on the market for years. Reuters reports that Merck and Schering-Plough have agreed to pay a combined $41.5 million to settle more than 100 lawsuits filed by consumers and health plans over Vytorin. Earlier this year, the companies agreed to pay $5.4 million to settle claims filed by 35 state attorneys general regarding the drug. Lewis Krauskopf, Reuters 08/05/2009

A recent American Medical Association (AMA) study proves that doctors are not leaving the practice of medicine because of malpractice lawsuits. (more…)