For decades talcum powder was marketed, particularly to women, for genital use.  In 1971, researchers found talc in 75% of the cervical tumors they studied.  In 1982, a researcher concluded that women who use talcum powder could be three times as likely to develop ovarian cancer.  By the year 2000 another ten epidemiological (medical science… Read more »

A jury in Delaware has returned a verdict for $100 million against transvaginal mesh manufacturer, Boston Scientific Corporation.  The verdict includes $25 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages.  The jury specifically found that the devices were defectively designed and that company executives committed fraud by hiding the true risks of the… Read more »

Zithromax, also known as Z-Pak or Z-max, is an antibiotic sold by Pfizer.  The drug was introduced in 1991 and has become one of the best-selling antibiotics in the U.S.  Zithromax is frequently prescribed because it can be used for short periods (1, 3, or 5 days).  It is also a popular antibiotic that can… Read more »

Boston Scientific is a manufacturer of transvaginal mesh.  Transvaginal mesh is surgically implanted mesh to treat, among other things, urinary incontinence. To date, more than 25,000 women have filed claims against Boston Scientific for injuries they suffered from the transvaginal mesh.  This week Boston Scientific announces that it had reached its first settlement to resolve some of… Read more »

Zofran is a drug produced and sold by Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) solely for the purpose of nausea relief in chemotherapy patients.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Zofran for this purpose.  However, GSK marketed the drug for “off label” use, meaning that they marketed the drug for purposes other than treating chemotherapy patients. … Read more »

Implantable medical devices are manmade products that are surgically implanted in a patient for medical reasons.  While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires extensive testing before allowing a new drug on the market, the FDA standard for new medical implants is much less stringent.  As a result a number of medical devices have been… Read more »

Zofran is an anti-nausea drug made by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).  The drug was approved in 1991 to treat cancer patients who developed nausea during chemotherapy treatments.  Later, GSK began to market the drug of off-label (unapproved) uses, including pregnant women who had morning sickness.  However, the company never did any clinical research or studies to determine… Read more »

Xarelto is a new anticoagulant (blood thinner) being prescribed to prevent the risk of blood clots and strokes.  The manufacturer (Janssen Pharmaceuticals) and co-marketer (Bayer Healthcare) promote the drug over other anticoagulants, such as Coumadin, because it does not require medical monitoring.  However, Xarelto reports link it to an increased risk of uncontrollable bleeding.  Anticoagulants… Read more »

Levaquin is an antibiotic in the class of fluoroquinalone (FQ) antibiotics.  Other drugs in this class of antibiotics include Cipro and Avelox.  People who use the FQ class of antibiotics may be twice as likely to develop peripheral neuropathy, which is a severe and sometimes permanent type of nerve damage.  Researchers reached these conclusions and… Read more »