The Dangerous Rebound of a Headache Drug
"You have to take the worst pain you've ever had," declares Dr. Katherine Fuller, "and imagine it doubled or tripled." "The pain is like when you first get a traumatic injury," says Eric Phillips, "that first few seconds where you sprained the ankle, where you panicked because it hurt so much." Nearly 25 million Americans … [Read more...] about The Dangerous Rebound of a Headache Drug
Darvon Side Effects May Lead To Tachycardia Lawsuits
Darvon Side Effects Cause Tachycardia. An opioid painkiller, Darvon was introduced onto the market and sold as propoxyphene in 1957. The painkiller was prescribed for the treatment of mild to moderate pain. Yet, recently the side effects of Darvon have been the subject of a Darvon lawsuit. The dangers dealt with in th … [Read more...] about Darvon Side Effects May Lead To Tachycardia Lawsuits
Physicians Advise Against Using Codeine in Children
Codeine In Children Risky. The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a new clinical report warning against the use of codeine in children due the risk of a potentially deadly reaction. Codeine is an opioid; it is used as a painkiller and cough suppressant. The report notes that codeine is widely prescribed in clinical settings. … [Read more...] about Physicians Advise Against Using Codeine in Children
CVS to Settle Painkiller Misuse Allegations for $22M
Lawsuit Against CVS Allegation of Painkiller Misuse. In 2012, the federal government filed a lawsuit against CVS and its wholesale supplier Cardinal over alleged misuse of the prescription painkiller oxycodone. Allegedly, CVS and Cardinal were aware that two Florida pharmacies were receiving high-volume orders of oxycodone. The Wall … [Read more...] about CVS to Settle Painkiller Misuse Allegations for $22M
FDA Tried To Thwart Release Of Vioxx Data
Vioxx Data Of Heart Problems. A Food and Drug Administration researcher was pressured by agency officials who wanted to prevent him from publishing a study that linked painkiller Vioxx to a high rate of heart problems, congressional investigators said yesterday. For the past few months, FDA epidemiologist David Graham … [Read more...] about FDA Tried To Thwart Release Of Vioxx Data
Herbal Painkiller Linked to Liver Failure
Herbal Painkiller. An herbal painkiller sold by a California company is the subject of a health warning in the United Kingdom (UK). According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the supplement, known as Fortodol or Leppin Miradin, has been linked to reports of serious liver failure, including two deaths. Fortodol is marketed by … [Read more...] about Herbal Painkiller Linked to Liver Failure
Merck Faces Vioxx Grand Jury Probe
Merck Faces Vioxx. Vioxx was approved for use in 1999, and quickly became a blockbuster for Merck, with annual sales of $2.5 billion. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) ordered the painkiller off the market after an analysis of patients using Vioxx linked the defective drug to more than 27,000 heart attacks or sudden cardiac … [Read more...] about Merck Faces Vioxx Grand Jury Probe
Biovail Recalls Ultram Painkiller
Biovail Recalls Ultram Painkiller Some lots of Ultram® ER 100mg tablets are being recalled. Toronto-based pharmaceutical company Biovail Corporation is voluntarily recalling some lots of the painkillers—generically known as extended-release tramadol hydrochloride—from pharmacies and wholesalers after finding that certain batches were … [Read more...] about Biovail Recalls Ultram Painkiller
FDA Painkiller Ban
FDA to Ban Painkiller. Propoxyphene, the addictive prescription painkiller sold under names that include Darvon and Darvocet is too risky to stay on the market, says Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group suing the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pubic Citizen petitioned the FDA two years ago to ban Propoxyphene saying … [Read more...] about FDA Painkiller Ban
Fentora Off-Label Marketing Charges Settled
Fentora Off-Label Marketing Charges. Fentora, a potent painkiller, has been linked to several deaths due to its misuse. Yet Cephalon, Inc. just announced it has submitted a request to the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market Fentora—fentanyl buccal—for the management of breakthrough pain in opioid-tolerant … [Read more...] about Fentora Off-Label Marketing Charges Settled
Merck faces new Vioxx setback
Merck Received A Blow To The Defense Of Vioxx. Merck, the US pharmaceutical group, on Monday received a fresh blow to the defense of its painkiller Vioxx. The New England Journal of Medicine, one of the world's most prestigious medical journals, published a correction arguing that the risk of heart problems was elevated throughout … [Read more...] about Merck faces new Vioxx setback
Ibuprofen doubles the risk of a heart attack
Ibuprofen Doubles The Risk Of A Heart Attack. The common painkiller Ibuprofen, sold over the counter in supermarkets and pharmacies, doubles the risk of a heart attack in patients who take it at high doses over a long period, a study has found. The drug is one of the most widely used remedies for headaches, period pains and … [Read more...] about Ibuprofen doubles the risk of a heart attack
Study: Vioxx Risks Started Within Months
Vioxx Risks Of Heart Attack And Stroke Raised. Unpublished data from the Merck & Co. study that led the drugmaker to halt sales of Vioxx appear to show the blockbuster painkiller raised the risk of heart attack and stroke within just a few months not after at least 18 months' use, as Merck has consistently argued. The company … [Read more...] about Study: Vioxx Risks Started Within Months
New data noted on Vioxx risk
Cardiovascular Risks Related To The Painkiller Vioxx Risk. The risk related to the painkiller Vioxx may begin earlier than what Merck & Co. has said, The Wall Street Journal reports, but the company doesn't agree. The Journal says new company data suggest the cardiovascular risk begins within four months of Vioxx use, and not … [Read more...] about New data noted on Vioxx risk
Painkiller Double Risk Of Heart Attacks
Painkiller Risk Of Heart Attacks. A drug used to treat thousands of patients in Britain for chronic pain in conditions such as arthritis has been linked with a doubling of the risk of heart attacks, according to a new study. The drug, Celebrex, is the third drug of its type to raise safety concerns. Vioxx was withdrawn … [Read more...] about Painkiller Double Risk Of Heart Attacks
FDA: Merck Had Time to Warn About Vioxx
Merck Warning About Vioxx. Merck & Co. could have warned that its popular painkiller Vioxx might increase the risk of heart attacks as soon as the first evidence showed up, rather than waiting two years for federal approval, a former Food and Drug Administration official testified Friday. Richard Kapit said there was … [Read more...] about FDA: Merck Had Time to Warn About Vioxx
Expert testifies Vioxx can cause deadly clots
Painkiller Vioxx Can Cause Blood Clots. A nationally known pharmacology expert testified Tuesday that the prescription painkiller Vioxx can cause blood clots like the one that led to the death of a Florida seafood salesman four years ago. Further, scientists and officials from drug maker Merck either intentionally … [Read more...] about Expert testifies Vioxx can cause deadly clots
Many Painkiller Users Not Protected Against Stomach Bleeding
A new study finds that less than a third of patients at high risk for gastrointestinal bleeding while taking NSAID painkillers are being prescribed medicines to prevent that bleeding. NSAIDs include over-the-counter and prescription versions of aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen (Aleve), as well as Vioxx and Bextra, which have been … [Read more...] about Many Painkiller Users Not Protected Against Stomach Bleeding
Exposed: How Drugs Giant Pushed Vioxx Painkiller
Drugs Giant Pushed Vioxx Painkiller. The growing furore surrounding the painkiller Vioxx could prove to be the most expensive legal action ever faced by a drugs company and raises questions about the marketing tactics used by a multibillion-pound pharmaceutical giant. At least 300 British patients who claim to have suffered heart … [Read more...] about Exposed: How Drugs Giant Pushed Vioxx Painkiller
FDA Bans Bextra Painkiller Sale
Bextra Risk Of Heart Attack And Skin Conditions. The Food and Drug Administration has followed the US FDA's lead by banning the sale of Bextra, a kind of painkiller for joint aches which puts users at risk of heart attack and skin conditions. The US FDA on April 7 asked Pfizer to withdraw ‘Bextra’ from the market and announced … [Read more...] about FDA Bans Bextra Painkiller Sale
Pfizer Pulls Bextra From UAE
Pfizer Pulls Bextra. Pfizer has decided to also follow the US Food and Drug Administration ruling in the United Arab Emirates and withdraw its painkiller Bextra. Risks To The Heart And Stomach The company still hopes that the drug may be re-introduced but the FDA said its risks to the heart and stomach outweighed potential … [Read more...] about Pfizer Pulls Bextra From UAE
Bextra Taken Off Market
Pfizer Inc. reluctantly halted sales of its arthritis painkiller Bextra on Thursday after the Food and Drug Administration concluded that it posed too many serious safety risks. It was the second major arthritis medication to be withdrawn in the last six months. In addition to asking Pfizer to stop selling its $1.4 billion-a-year … [Read more...] about Bextra Taken Off Market
FDA Pulls Painkiller and Orders New Warnings On Others
Painkiller Risks Of Heart Attacks And Strokes. In a sweeping move to address one of its worst drug safety debacles, the Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that dozens of widely used prescription painkillers must now carry the government’s strongest warning that they pose risks of heart attacks and strokes. And one … [Read more...] about FDA Pulls Painkiller and Orders New Warnings On Others
Pfizer Pulls Bextra
First, though, there is important medical news that you need to know about. The drugmaker Pfizer is pulling its arthritis painkiller Bextra off the market. The Food and Drug Administration asked for the recall. The FDA also called for the strongest possible warning on Pfizer's other big arthritis painkiller, Celebrex. Our medical … [Read more...] about Pfizer Pulls Bextra
How Merck Stacked the Vioxx Deck
The same week that drug manufacturer Merck pulled its highly profitable painkiller, Vioxx, from the market last September, acknowledging that it was linked to heart attacks and strokes, a Las Vegas legend dropped into our local poker game. Ray is one of poker's few long-term success stories. A math wiz, highly praised author of … [Read more...] about How Merck Stacked the Vioxx Deck
HMO Bans Bextra Until Safety is Proven
Heart Risks Associated With Bextra. Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest not-for-profit managed-care provider, has stopped prescribing Bextra until tests show whether the painkiller is safe. The decision came amid "compelling" evidence of heightened heart risks associated with Bextra and a similar drug called Vioxx that … [Read more...] about HMO Bans Bextra Until Safety is Proven
Suicide Painkiller Withdrawn
Accidental Death From Painkiller Overdose. One of Britain’s most commonly used drugs is to be withdrawn over concerns about the high risk of accidental death from slight overdose and its frequent use in suicides, The Times has learnt. Co-proxamol, prescribed to hundreds of thousands of Britons every year, is to be the subject of … [Read more...] about Suicide Painkiller Withdrawn
Maker Cites Heart Risk in Celebrex
Heart Risk in Celebrex. The National Cancer Institute halted a three-year international study using Celebrex because long-term use of the painkiller at high doses more than tripled risk of heart problems, the drug's manufacturer said yesterday. But a second study using lower doses of Celebrex did not similarly increase … [Read more...] about Maker Cites Heart Risk in Celebrex
Pfizer Cites Celebrex Heart Attack Risk
Pfizer Inc. said Friday it had no plans to pull the popular painkiller Celebrex off the market despite data showing that patients using the drug in a long-term cancer study had more than double the risk of a heart attack. "We need to fully understand the information that we got last night" when the company learned of the study's … [Read more...] about Pfizer Cites Celebrex Heart Attack Risk
Oxycontin: Fast Trip To Addiction?
Painkiller Oxycontin Drug Abuse. As drug abuse allegations swirl around him, Rush Limbaugh was still refusing to answer questions about his own troubles instead bringing up an old adversary. "People are saying that I'm being 'Clintonesque', that I'm waiting until I know everything I have to deal with so that I can figure out what … [Read more...] about Oxycontin: Fast Trip To Addiction?
Vioxx Users Pursue Legal Action Over Painkiller
Laura Darrell needed relief from back pain so she could concentrate on her nursing studies. A doctor prescribed the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx in 2001, and it eased the pain from her degenerative bone disease But the 37-year-old Madera mother says the painkiller caused her to have a series of small strokes at the end of 2002, … [Read more...] about Vioxx Users Pursue Legal Action Over Painkiller
Slam Vioxx-maker delays
A Report Blast Vioxx Maker. The troublesome painkiller Vioxx should have been yanked from the market several years ago when growing evidence already pointed to a significant risk of heart attacks, according to a damning new report that blasts both the drugmaker and U.S. health officials. The combined results of 29 studies and … [Read more...] about Slam Vioxx-maker delays
Antitrust Probe Against OxyContin Maker
Probe Against OxyContin Maker. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is calling on other states to join an investigation into Purdue Pharma, the Stamford, Conn.-based maker of the controversial painkiller OxyContin, the Associated Press reported Jan. 8. Blumenthal said his antitrust probe would determine whether Purdue … [Read more...] about Antitrust Probe Against OxyContin Maker
Connecticut AG Vows Oxycontin Investigation
Painkiller Oxycontin Investigation. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general, said Tuesday he will ask other states to join in investigating whether the maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin blocked the development of cheaper generic alternatives. The planned antitrust probe came a day after a federal … [Read more...] about Connecticut AG Vows Oxycontin Investigation
Painkiller Ingredient Linked To More Florida Deaths Than Heroin
Painkiller Ingredient Linked To Deaths. Sylvia Cover remembers her husband telling the physician, "Just fix me up, Doc, so I can get back to work and take care of my family." Six months later, Gerry Cover was dead. Hooked on a powerful painkiller called OxyContin, the 39-year-old handyman and father of three died from … [Read more...] about Painkiller Ingredient Linked To More Florida Deaths Than Heroin
Oxycontin Class-Action Suit
Class-action Lawsuit On Oxycontin. Four people who claim they were harmed by the painkiller Oxycontin asked a federal judge Monday to certify their lawsuit against the drug's maker as a national class-action complaint. The four say that their lawsuit, filed in Cincinnati, would protect the interests of anyone in the country who … [Read more...] about Oxycontin Class-Action Suit
Supermarket Chain Pulls Oxycontin
Supermarket Chain will no longer stock OxyContin. The Stop & Shop supermarket chain will no longer stock the painkiller Oxycontin because of an increasing number of robberies involving the drug. "Stop & Shop is committed to providing the needs of our customers, but not at the expense of the safety of our customers and … [Read more...] about Supermarket Chain Pulls Oxycontin
Purdue Pharma, maker of painkiller OxyContin, starts ad campaign
Purdue Pharma Maker Of OxyContin Ad Campaign. The maker of the painkiller OxyContin is starting an advertising campaign in U.S. newspapers to highlight its efforts to combat abuse of the powerful prescription drug. Purdue Pharma's six-month campaign was to begin Thursday, with ads in papers from Maine to Florida. Company officials … [Read more...] about Purdue Pharma, maker of painkiller OxyContin, starts ad campaign
FDA Sends Warning Letter To Vioxx Maker
Vioxx Maker Misleading Information. The Food and Drug Administration has ordered Merck, maker of the blockbuster painkiller Vioxx, to issue a letter to doctors "to correct false or misleading impressions and information" stemming from the drug's promotional campaign. Merck's marketing efforts, aimed mainly at doctors, … [Read more...] about FDA Sends Warning Letter To Vioxx Maker
