August 2010

Some types of medical products have to go through a special FDA approval process before they can be sold.  The manufacturers of those products are immune from suit due to a questionable Supreme Court decision.  Thankfully, the DePuy hip replacement components are not covered by that Supreme Court decision and individuals injured by those components

A little skepticism is a healthy thing:

Many patients taking prescription drugs believe that pharmaceutical companies have too much influence over their physicians’ prescribing practices, according to a new survey.

* * * *

About half of the medication users believed that their doctors were too eager to write a prescription when other non-pharmacological options

Some people don’t understand why pharmaceutical companies shouldn’t be allowed to engage in off-label marketing.  Here’s one reason:

Peetz was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura in 1995, at age 11. According to the lawsuit, by 2003 Genentech and Biogen Idec were marketing Rituxan as an off-label treatment for Peetz’ condition, meaning the

Did you know that the FDA doesn’t have subpoena power? That’s the power to make a company hand over a document.  Every single attorney in the U.S. can subpoena a document from a pharmaceutical company, but the FDA (which is supposed to regulate pharmaceuticals) doesn’t have that power. 

Citing a recent spike in pharmaceutical recalls,