A report in USA Today concerns the legal action by hundreds of plaintiffs who used the blood-thinner Pradaxa, stating that it may amount to “the country’s next blockbuster civil settlement.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Pradaxa, manufactured by German pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim, in 2010. At the time, it was promoted as the first replacement for the commonly used blood thinner warfarin, known by the brand ...
continue reading...A column by Dr. Anthony L. Komaroff in North Carolina’s Daily Reflector cautions about the effects of drug interactions for patients taking the medication warfarin – an anticoagulant, or blood thinner.
Komaroff writes that some antibiotics and antifungal drugs increase warfarin’s ability to stop blood clotting, but others do the opposite. Some topical antibiotics that are applied directly to the skin can also interfere with warfarin. He recommends that anyone ...
continue reading...A report on the Website for ABC’s Channel 13 out of Ohio deals with attempts by Pfizer Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to get federal regulators to approve their experimental anticlotting drug Eliquis.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration once again delayed that approval, with the agency saying it wants more information on “data management and verification” from a huge international study examining how well Eliquis prevented strokes in patients ...
continue reading...A story in the Houston Press spotlights the growing health concerns that many medical professionals have about the blood thinner Pradaxa, which manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim acknowledges has been linked to more than 260 deaths.
The Houston Press article mentions the case of Loraine Franklin, an 80-year-old former teacher who died of an intercranial hemorrhage after she fell on her kitchen floor.
Franklin’s daughters say ...
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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 ...
continue reading...A study recently presented to the 2012 Thombosis and Hemostasis Summit of North America compared Pradaxa to Coumadin and found that Pradaxa has a higher risk of bleeding and other complications.
Manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma markets Pradaxa as a preferable alternative to warfarin, because Pradaxa, despite these risks, doesn’t require frequent blood tests.
The two blood thinners are known by their chemical names warfarin, sold under brand name Coumadin, and dabigatran, ...
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