The number of product liability lawsuits over Sanofi-Aventis’s Taxotere causing permanent hair loss in women prescribed the medication for breast cancer reached about 7,500 cases in mid-December 2017, versus 28 cases in October 2016, according to court documents filed in late January. The Taxotere product liability lawsuits each raise similar... Read more »

In early December, a Philadelphia state court ruled against the makers of the anticoagulant Xarelto, ordering them to pay $27.8 million in damages due to their failure to warn patients and the medical community about the drug’s potential to cause internal bleeding. Drug makers Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson... Read more »

Several very large jury verdicts against the makers of Androgel, AbbVie, caused the U.S. District Judge in charge of Federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) in a number of Androgel trials to order the parties involved to attend a conference in early November to talk about settlement negotiation status. AbbVie Ordered to... Read more »

A phase III clinical study exploring the use of Xarelto (rivaroxaban) in preventing strokes and embolism in recent stroke patients has been stopped because Xarelto showed no more efficacy than the current recommended care, low doses of aspirin, while also demonstrating higher bleeding rates than aspirin. Study “Stopping Early for... Read more »

Lawsuits again the manufacturers of heartburn medication Nexium and other proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have been consolidated before a Federal judge in New Jersey. The suits to be coordinated before the judge involve Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, and Protonix. The manufacturers include AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Teva Pharmaceuticals and other heartburn drug makers.... Read more »

The blood thinner Xarelto and other anticoagulants caused more than 3,000 deaths in 2016, according to a recent report by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). Its QuarterWatch indicates that nearly 22,000 adverse event reports were sent to the FDA last year about anticoagulants such as Xarelto, Pradaxa, Eliquis,... Read more »