The $610.5 million Bayer set aside for Yasmin-related lawsuits this quarter is to pay the company’s costs beyond what insurance will cover for legal fees and accords, including cases that haven’t been settled, Bloomberg reports. The German drug maker isn’t disclosing the amount of its insurance coverage.
That $610.5 million indicates that the company is anticipating more payouts from its Yasmin line of birth control pills, because that amount is more ...
continue reading...According to the Mayo Clinic, the exact cause of Stevens-Johnson syndrome can’t always be identified. Usually, the condition is an allergic reaction in response to medication, infection or illness.
Whatever the underlying cause, the condition is gravely serious. It can cause the top layer of skin to shed and die. Even if it doesn’t prove deadly, it’s extremely painful and can cause long-term health problems including blindness.
The Mayo Clinic provides the following information on the condition’s causes:
Medication causes
Medications are most often ...
continue reading...In an interview with reporters, GlaxoSmithKline chief executive officer Andrew Witty addressed the record $3 billion in penalties recently assessed against his company – including the question of whether jail time for company executives might be appropriate in such cases.
In a blog entry about the interview, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s David Sell mentions that Witty became CEO in May 2008, which is after the criminal conduct involved in the plea agreement. The GSK board of directors was aware of the investigation ...
continue reading...In a piece for the Huffington Post, Pacific Institute President Peter Gleick attempts to cut through some of the extreme rhetoric on both sides of the fracking debate, and provide a clearer picture of what’s at stake with the controversial natural gas extraction method.
Gleick argues that fracking, the common name for hydraulic fracturing, isn’t inherently good or bad.
“But good or bad things can happen as a result of fracking, depending on how it is implemented, where it is pursued, the ...
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Bayer’s second quarter earnings are down, largely because of costs associated with settling lawsuits from consumers who claim the pharmaceutical giant’s Yasmin line of birth control pills caused health problems, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports.
Despite the lagging profits, however, the company said global sales for the quarter jumped by 10 percent to a record $12.5 billion on strong performances by all three of the company’s business segments. Crop sciences revenues ...
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Johnson & Johnson’s Synthes unit, a maker of tools and implants to treat damaged bones, has been sued by the family of a woman who died during an unapproved trial of a bone cement, Bloomberg reports.
It’s an ironic development for Johnson & Johnson, which recently purchased Synthes for $19.7 billion, largely in the hopes it would help offset revenue losses related to a series of recalls and legal problems over ...
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