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February 2008
- FDA Approved Wrong China Firm
  
  Washington Post | Feb 19, 08 6:26 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Chinese facility that supplied the active ingredient of the blood-thinner heparin, linked to hundreds of adverse reactions and four US deaths, was never inspected by the FDA because the agency confused it with another plant of the same name, the Washington Post reports. The company was given approval based on an earlier FDA inspection of the other factory. "The wrong firm was put into the database," said the FDA's deputy director. More »
- Deaths Spark FDA Review of Botox Safety
  
  Reuters | Feb 8, 08 5:05 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The FDA is investigating the safety of Botox and a competing medication after learning that the drug might have caused death and breathing problems in children being treated for cerebral palsy, Reuters reports. That's not an approved use for the cosmetic drug; docs administer it because it can block nerve impulses and relax spasmodic muscles. No adult deaths were reported, according to the Wall Street Journal . More »
- Puerto Rican Drug Plants Shipped Tainted Pills: FDA
  
  Associated Press | Feb 6, 08 1:38 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Caribbean island that produces 13 of the 20 best-selling drugs in the US has sold tainted pills and is struggling with quality control at its pharmaceutical plants, AP reports. FDA inspections of 13 Puerto Rican plants between 2003 and 2007 revealed problems such as machinery pins left in drug bottles and foreign material embedded in tablets. More »
- Epilepsy Drugs Increase Risk of Suicide: FDA
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Feb 1, 08 6:11 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Taking epilepsy medication can double risk of suicidal behavior, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Results of a government study showed the increased risk for 11 specific drugs, including Pfizer’s Neurontin and Lyrica, but the Food and Drug Administration warned that the findings probably apply to all epilepsy medications. Labels for the drugs will be changed to reflect the risks. More »
January 2008
- Abortion Pill Maker in Tainted Drug Scandal
  
  New York Times | Jan 31, 08 5:00 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A Chinese pharmaceutical giant which exports the abortion pill RU-486 to the US is accused of producing tainted cancer medication and of attempting a cover-up. Shanghai Hualian's tainted drugs left 200 Chinese leukemia patients hospitalized, some paralyzed, reports the New York Times . There's no indication US shipments of RU-486 are also tainted. The company is the sole supplier of RU-486 to the US. More »
- Dutch Pharma Firm Preps Pot Pill
  
  Reuters | Jan 27, 08 1:31 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Why smoke pot when you can pop a pill? Echo Pharmaceuticals is jumping into Phase II trials for a new cannabis pill that could snag 20%-30% of the booming medical marijuana market, Reuters reports. The Dutch firm plans to sell the pill within 5 years, giving medical marijuana users a healthier way to take the drug. More »
- Ditch Cold Meds for Tots: FDA
  
  Associated Press | Jan 17, 08 6:04 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Although cold and cough medicine manufacturers pulled their baby and toddler lines off the shelves in October, the FDA is issuing an official advisory today to warn parents of the risk of giving any such remedies to children under 2. The government worries that uninformed parents are simply dosing their sniffly little ones with old medicines still in their home or products aimed at older kids, AP reports. More »
- Antidepressant Studies Distort Drugs' Usefulness
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jan 16, 08 9:37 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Roughly half of the medical studies involving antidepressants that found little or no effect on patients have gone unpublished or had their findings mischaracterized as positive, a new study reveals. The emphasis on publishing only studies with glowing reviews gives patients and doctors a false sense of the effectiveness of drugs such as Zoloft and Effexor, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
- Generic Beats Pricey Pill on Cholesterol
  
  Bloomberg | Jan 14, 08 5:42 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A cheap generic drug cuts arterial buildup as well as a pricey pill and may threaten the growth of two drug companies, Bloomberg reports. Vytorin is produced by Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. and costs $2.84 per dose; simvastin, a generic, costs 3 cents a pill and works just as well, according to a new study. Stocks fell for both companies after the news broke today. More »
- New Drug Stirs Debate Over Disease's Existence
  
  New York Times | Jan 14, 08 4:20 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The first drug approved by the FDA to treat fibromyalgia is raising questions, but not the typical ones about whether the medication works. They're questions about whether the disease even exists. Lyrica sales are up and climbing, but critics say giving a name to the chronic pain that characterizes fibromyalgia lends the diagnosis undeserved legitimacy, the New York Times reports. More »
- Beefed-Up R&D Slows Drug Approval
  
  Bloomberg | Jan 8, 08 5:45 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The FDA approved only 19 new drugs in 2007, the lowest total in 24 years. Bloomberg takes a look at the reasons. Some drug companies accuse the FDA of setting the bar higher for drug approvals, a charge the agency denies. Many, however, say the issue lies with big pharma devoting more attention to developing existing products than to creating new drugs. More »
- Merck May Pay $700M for Schizophrenia Drug
  
  Reuters | Jan 3, 08 11:42 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Merck today finalized a deal worth as much as $700 million to license a schizophrenia drug from Swiss biotech firm Addex Pharmaceuticals. Addex will get $22 million up front, and qualify for another $680 million in milestone payments. Such licensing deals are growing commonplace, Reuters reports, as big pharma turns to little biotech to refill drug pipelines. More »
- Sex Drug for Women Being Tested
  
  Associated Press | Jan 2, 08 7:09 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The University of Virginia is set to become the latest institution to test a drug designed to boost the sex drive of women, the AP reports. LibiGel is a testosterone-laden ointment the patient rubs into her skin to increase energy and libido. Decreased sex drive is believed to affect one-third of American women. More »
December 2007
- Merck Recalls 1M Doses of Vaccine for Kids
  
  Associated Press | Dec 12, 07 7:14 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Merck is recalling almost a million doses of a childhood vaccine after it found evidence of contamination at one of its factories, the AP reports. The pharmaceutical giant says no children have been harmed after taking Hib, which prevents meningitis and pneumonia, but the company is recalling its 10 lots and two lots of a combination vaccine for both Hib and hepatitis B. More »
- Bristol-Myers to Slash Jobs, Shut Plants
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 5, 07 6:09 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Bristol-Myers Squibb said today it will lay off 10% of its work force—totaling 4,300 jobs—and close or sell half its 27 factories in a plan to save $1.5 billion by 2010, the Wall Street Journal reports. The firm also will sell its medical-imaging division and possibly its wound-care and nutritional-supplements businesses as it focuses on drugmaking, its strongest suit. More »
- Quaids Sue Drug Firm Over OD
  
  Chicago Tribune | Dec 5, 07 9:00 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Actor Dennis Quaid and his wife filed a lawsuit against Baxter International, maker of the blood thinner Heparin, after their newborn twins nearly died of an overdose, the Chicago Tribune reports. The couple said Baxter was negligent because it packaged two different strengths of the drug, one a thousand times more concentrated than the other, in similar vials. More »
- Cancer Still Winning War ...on Cancer
  
  Boston Globe | Dec 2, 07 5:35 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Nixon declared war on cancer in '71, but $69 billion in funding and claims of near victory are yet to slow it down, the Boston Globe reports. No one knows what makes it spread—and trigger 90% of cancer deaths—and a drop in deaths is due to lifestyle changes and early diagnosis, not better drugs. Yet one expert claims that progress is being made, quietly, behind closed doors. More »
November 2007
- Tamiflu Will Carry Stronger Warning Labels
  
  Associated Press | Nov 28, 07 4:51 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The maker of flu drug Tamiflu said today it will accept recommendations by a government panel that it revise printed warnings about the medication's side effects. Labels already warn of possible psychiatric reactions, but the panel recommended noting that some people have died, the AP reports. Drugmaker Roche says flu alone can trigger problems such as delirium and wants the labels to make that clear as well. More »