You Have Rights Blog
Where Do the Candidates Stand on Prescription Drugs?
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
While the issue has taken a back seat to the nation’s emerging financial crisis and other controversies, the United States pharmaceutical industry figures to get a strong shake-up no matter which candidate wins the White House. While they have somewhat different ideas on how they would attempt to overhaul the nation’s health care system, Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Republican candidate John McCain have both made it clear that changing the way prescription drugs are handled is a focal point of their plans. Pharmaceutical industry representatives have said that either administration will be hostile to the drug industry, which has…
Pfizer to Pay $894 Million to Settle Celebrex and Bextra Suits
Friday, October 17, 2008
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. has announced it will pay $894 million to settle thousands of lawsuits brought by patients who took Celebrex and Bextra, two of the company’s controversial painkillers. The drugs, members of a family of painkillers called Cox-2 inhibitors, have been accused of causing fatal heart attacks and strokes in patients. Most of the settlement money, $745 million, will resolve 90% of the estimated 7,000 personal injury suits that are currently filed against Pfizer for Bextra and Celebrex injuries. The rest of the money will go to settle claims brought by attorneys general in 33 states and the…
Vioxx Risks Lingered Far Longer Than Previously Known, New Study Finds
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from the controversial arthritis drug and pain killer Vioxx continued for up to one year after patients stopped taking the drug, much longer than medical researchers previously thought, a new study finds. Merck’s blockbuster drug, released in 1999, was pulled from the market in 2004 over concerns about deadly side effects, mostly from long-term, high dose use of the drug. Research found that patients who took Vioxx faced more than twice the risk of heart attack and death as patients who took the anti-arthritis drug Celbrex, its main rival. An estimated 20…
More Regulation Of Heparin is Needed to Avoid Deaths, Injuries
Friday, September 26, 2008
The commonly used blood-thinning drug heparin has caused dozens of deaths and serious injuries in recent years. Many of the injuries were preventable if hospitals had taken steps to prevent mistakes in administering heparin and other blood thinners, according to a national hospital accreditation agency. The Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, is urging hospitals to adopt stricter standards for the use of anticoagulants like heparin. The commission issued a safety alert to hospitals on September 24, 2008. By taking time to double-check their…
