Illegal practices by a Pennsylvania-based company called Synthes have been linked to the deaths of five patients. But according to a story on the affair by Fortune magazine, those practices are common among manufacturers of medical devices.
Four high-ranking executives are doing jail time for their role in “off-label marketing” of a bone cement called Norian XR. That occurs when manufacturers specifically market a product for a use not approved by ...
continue reading...
A Boston University law professor claims legal limitations on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are indirectly responsible for a national meningitis outbreak that has sickened more than 400 people and killed 31.
A story in the Los Angeles Times deals with the allegations made by Kevin Outterson, who specializes in healthcare law and pharmaceutical markets.
In 2002, Outterson says, the Supreme Court overturned provisions of a 1997 ...
continue reading...
Researchers are recommending that pregnant women with past episodes of mild to moderate depression stay away from a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
An article in the Boston Globe cites a review of more than 100 studies that researchers from Boston IVF and Tufts University School of Medicine published in the journal Human Reproduction. According to the story, the researchers concluded that “there is no evidence of improved ...
continue reading...A recent story in Consumer Reports says health concerns about highly caffeinated energy drinks are justified. The magazine conducted tests of energy drinks and found that, per serving, some have as much as twice the caffeine found in a typical 8-oz cup of coffee.
Despite that, the labels frequently don’t reveal the caffeine levels. In tests of 27 top-selling energy drinks, Consumer Reports found that 11 did not list caffeine amounts.
Incident reports filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have ...
continue reading...The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that a company’s claims of treating or curing fungal meningitis with “light therapy” are false.
According to a story posted on the ABC News Website, The Avalon Effect, of Franklin, Tenn., illegally marketed the Quantum Series Personal Wellness Pack as a treatment or cure for fungal meningitis.
The company’s Website claimed the product’s “non-invasive, stress reducing light” relieves the symptoms of meningitis, which is a ...
continue reading...The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued some recommendations on protecting children from accidental poisoning after ingesting eyedrops and decongestants, Web MD reports.
The recommendations came after the FDA put out a warning that a wide range of brand-name and generic varieties of eyedrops and decongestants don’t come in child-resistant packages, and can sicken children.
The medicines in both types of product, which cause blood vessels to constrict, are harmless when used as directed. But less than a fifth of a ...
continue reading...
