Drug and Medical Device Lawsuits

Illegal marketing practices are common

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 ...

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FDA warns of false meningitis cure

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 ...

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J&J bought troubled Norian XR manufacturer to help own reputation

The Pennsylvania-based company Synthes produced a bone cement called Norian XR, which has been linked to the deaths of five patients who received it for spine surgery. Four high-ranking Synthes executives ended up doing jail time for their role in illegally marketing Norian, despite allegedly being aware of the health risks it presented.

Ironically, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson acquired Synthes specifically as a means of dealing with damage to J&J’s own reputation in the wake of what Fortune magazine describes ...

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J&J hopes to overcome troubles from recalls

Investment Website Seeking Alpha says that healthcare products giant Johnson & Johnson is poised to announce its third-quarter earnings report. The company is hoping to break a streak of revenue declines over the last two quarters, as well as net income declines over the past four quarters.

The report says Wall Street has a mixed view on the advisability of investing in the company. Goldman Sachs, for example, recently downgraded the ...

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Experts warn of hacked medical devices

Participants in a recent government panel warn that computerized medical devices are increasingly susceptible to hacking, including infections by computer viruses.

According to a story in MIT’s Technology Review, the malware infections can clog patient-monitoring equipment and other software systems, at times rendering the devices temporarily inoperable.

The report quotes Kevin Fu, a leading expert on medical-device security and a computer scientist at the University of Michigan and the University of Massachusetts, ...

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Synthes accused of illegally testing Norian bone cement on people

Fortune magazine recently published an article called “Bad to the Bone: A Medical Horror Story.”

The story concerns a Pennsylvania-based company called Synthes, which developed and marketed a bone cement called Norian XR for the ostensible purpose of repairing spine injuries. Norian led to the deaths of at least five patients, and jail time for four high-ranking Synthes executives.

As Fortune describes it, Synthes illegally marketed Norian despite increasing evidence that it might be dangerous. In effect, the company created a situation ...

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