The U.S. Food and Drug administration has ordered St. Jude Medical to do additional studies on patients implanted with medical device components that are blamed in as many as 20 deaths.
According to the New York Times, the FDA has also recommended that patients who received the Riata defibrillator lead — a wire that connects a defibrillator to a patient’s heart — get X-rays or other imaging to check for problems.
The ...
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A story from the U.K.’s “Manchester Evening News” tells the story of a 57-year-old mother of two who spent months unable to work or leave her house because of a DePuy all-metal artificial hip implant.
Sally Gration, 57, underwent hip replacement surgery in February 2006 to treat hip dysplasia, or a malformed hip joint.
Initially, the surgery appeared to be successful. But she began suffering excruciating pain in 2010 – the year ...
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According to a story in the New York Times, a renewed U.S. Justice Department emphasis on prosecuting corporate fraud is expected to bring in as much as $8 billion this year from pharmaceutical companies, military contractors, banks and other corporations charged with defrauding the government, which amounts to a record sum.
Still, the lack of charges against executives at those companies is resurrecting questions about accountability, and just how much of ...
continue reading...A prominent Wall Street analyst is suggesting that the best way for Johnson & Johnson to cope with its many problems would be to break into smaller companies, according to an article in the Asbury Park Press.
Jami Rubin of Goldman Sachs suggests that splitting Johnson & Johnson’s three divisions into separate companies would free up money to invest, help the company grow faster and provide a bigger return to shareholders.
The ...
continue reading...Although metal-on-metal hip implants are still on the market, despite their well-documented problems, their use is declining, according to a Chicago Tribune story.
A Chicago Tribune report on the devices mentions a survey taken by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 2010, which showed 16 percent of surgeons were using metal-on-metal implants before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned ...
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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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