Drug and Medical Device Lawsuits

Big Pharma joining up to get drugs on market faster

According to an article in the New York Times, 10 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies are banding together to form a “nonprofit organization” called TransCelerate BioPharma that will be devoted to streamlining clinical trials and getting drugs on the market sooner.

The report quotes unidentified “people behind the effort” as saying this will be the largest cooperative venture of its kind among the pharmaceutical giants. Garry Neil, the interim chief ...

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Nearly 16,800 recorded problems with metal hip joints

According to a Bloomberg story, nearly 16,800 adverse events associated with metal-on-metal hip implants were reported in the United States from 2000 through 2011.

Metal-on-metal hip implants, which have both a ball and socket coated in an alloy made of cobalt and chromium, were originally introduced as an ostensibly more durable alternative to earlier plastic and ceramic models. But a number ...

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Laser research looks at breaking up clots

An article on HowStuffWorks.com takes a look at research into using lasers to break up blood clots and prevent strokes.

According to the article, the challenge in that field of research is making the pulse of the laser strong enough to effectively bust up the clot without breaking the blood vessel walls.

In addition to lasers, the article says, several other mechanical means of removing clots have been tested, including an ultrasound ...

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Medical products companies bribing doctors

According to a Reuters story, sales representatives for Abbott Laboratories Inc’s subsidiaries routinely buy gifts for physicians in India to bribe them into prescribing certain drugs.

The practice is so blatant that an Abbott sales-strategy guide explicitly states that doctors who pledge to prescribe the company’s branded drugs, or who’ve already prescribed certain amounts, can expect gifts such as coffee makers, cookware and vacuum cleaners in return.

According to the story, public ...

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J&J seeks priority review for new drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration intends to give priority review to Johnson & Johnson’s experimental treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

According to a story in the Newark Star Ledger, Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Research & Development unit applied for approval to market bedaquiline, or TMC207, on June 29. The drug would be included in combination therapy for adults with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis lung infections.

Under the FDA’s standard review process, the agency aims ...

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Court refuses to throw out J&J fine

According to Bloomberg, a Louisiana appeals court declined to throw out an award of nearly $258 million that Johnson & Johnson must pay to state officials, over illegal marketing of its antipsychotic drug Risperdal.

Jurors in Louisiana found Johnson & Johnson officials violated the state’s Medicaid fraud laws 35,542 times over Risperdal. Lawyers for the state argued that the company defrauded Louisiana’s Medicaid program by wrongfully marketing the drug to doctors ...

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