Product News and Recalls

J&J requests extension to sell dangerous implants

Johnson & Johnson has requested that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allow the company 120 days to take four types of vaginal mesh implants off the market, despite widespread complaints that the devices are causing severe injuries for women who receive them.

Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that the action is not technically a recall.

Vaginal mesh implants are used to treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, which occurs when muscles are weakened – ...

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Discrimination suit against Yaz maker expanded

A class action sex discrimination suit against Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals has been expanded, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

An amended complaint filed last month in federal court in New Jersey alleges that female sales representatives were paid less and promoted less often than their male counterparts. The amended complaint also claims women in the consumer care division were sexually harassed by Bayer executives and the company ignored ...

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Professor argues for federal oversight of fracking

Michael Krancer, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, argued against federal regulation of natural gas drilling during testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Bloomberg reports.

The “hydraulic fracturing,” or “fracking,” method of natural gas extraction employed in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region has proven controversial. It uses chemically treated water to free gas trapped in underground shale formations.

Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, testified before the ...

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Johnson & Johnson to pull mesh implants from market

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to stop selling four types of vaginal mesh implants in response to mesh lawsuits from more than 600 women who claim the devices injured them.

According to Bloomberg, the company informed a federal judge in West Virginia that it intends to stop “commercializing” the implants. Bloomberg quotes a spokesman for Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit as saying that sales of the devices will ...

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Psychiatrist warns against SSRI antidepressants

In a piece for the Huffington Post, Harvard-trained psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin argues that antidepressants classified as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors do more harm than good.

Breggin refers to considerable evidence that the antidepressants worsen depression and cause severe behavioral abnormalities, attributing the problem to “compensatory changes” in neurotransmitters as the brain resists the drug effect.

“It has been apparent for many years that chronic exposure to SSRI antidepressants frequently makes people feel apathetic or less engaged in their lives, and ultimately ...

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Study: Risky Pradaxa blood clot treatment may be unnecessary

A randomized, double-blind clinical trial indicates that aspirin works just as well as the commonly prescribed blood thinner warfarin in preventing blood clots.

According to a report in the New York Times, this is significant because aspirin is easier to take. Warfarin requires a monthly blood test, and also restricts activities for patients because of its tendency to cause bleeding.

The anti-coagulant Pradaxa was ostensibly designed to replace warfarin, based on manufacturer ...

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