The Zantac Recall – Your Questions Answered

Over the past few months, you may have noticed several news pieces mentioning recalls of some of the popular heartburn medication ranitidine, also known as Zantac. The culprit in these recalls is a concern of low levels of NDMA, a probable human carcinogen. Nationwide pharmacies like Walgreens, CVS, Walmart and Rite Aid have all pulled…

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Former CEO of Insys to Plead Guilty in Opioid-Kickback Scheme

In late December of 2018, federal prosecutors announced that Michael Babich, former CEO of Insys Therapeutics, agreed to plead guilty to participating in a bribery scheme which gave kickbacks to doctors in exchange for prescribing a powerful opioid painkiller. Babich, who resigned his role as CEO of the Arizona-based drug manufacturing firm, was scheduled to…

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Januvia and Byetta Lawsuits Are Going Back to Court

Januvia and Byetta, along with Janumet and Victoza, are the diabetes drugs at the center of 945 lawsuits. The cases had originally been dismissed, but a federal appeals court overturned that decision in December of 2017, and remanded the cases back to U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia in the Southern District of California. He has…

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Opioid Antidote Naloxone Recalled by Manufacturer

Drug manufacturer Hospira has recalled Naloxone, the medication commonly used by first responders, medical professionals, and hospitals to quickly reverse suspected conditions of an opioid overdose. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that Naloxone works as an opioid antagonist, attaching to opioid receptors in the brain. Therefore, when it is administered to a drug…

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Voluntary Withdrawal of Zinbryta from the Market After Concerns Arise Over Liver and Brain Damage

The drug Zinbryta has been recalled on a voluntary basis by its manufacturers according to the recommendation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in cooperation with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Zinbryta (daclizumab) was approved by the FDA in May 2016 for the treatment of individuals suffering from various relapses of multiple sclerosis (MS).…

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Ocaliva Dosage Errors Prompt the FDA to Require New Black Box Warning

FDA officials have now added a boxed warning label to obeticholic acid (Ocaliva), a liver disease medicine, in order to emphasize the proper dosing patients with rare chronic liver disease should follow. The FDA announcement states that the designated daily dosage for obeticholic acid, manufactured by Intercept Pharmaceuticals, has been incorrect. Instead, the dosage has…

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Nuplazid Produced Worsening Conditions for Many Users

Anti-psychotic drug Nuplazid (pimavanserin) is manufactured by Acadia pharmaceuticals and approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for treating Parkinson’s disease patients with debilitating psychosis. The process of approval used for Nuplazid allowed an expedited pharmaceutical safety review by categorizing this drug as a breakthrough therapy. Instituted by Congress in 2012, this breakthrough therapy classification…

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Warning: These Teething Medicines Are Unsafe for Your Baby

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers about an over-the-counter teething medication for infants and children under the age of two that could be harmful. The agency says that products containing benzocaine are dangerous and pose a serious risk to infants and children under two. Benzocaine is used to treat sore gums,…

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Several Diabetes Drugs May Cause Increased Risk of Toe Amputation

Recent findings provided by the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) detail the connection between the use of several diabetes drugs and the elevated risk of toe amputation. The diabetes drugs that pose this serious risk to patients are classified as sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors used to treat individuals with…

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