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Millions of Americans live with type-2 diabetes and many are taking some of the medications now at the focus of a couple of concerning reports. A newly published report finds people taking some diabetes drugs are facing a higher than expected number of startling effects on the pancreas, a possible […]

The Food and Drug Administration is curious whether robotic surgery is helping patients or raising the cost of healthcare. Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci robot is the subject of an FDA survey that has been sent to key hospitals that belong to a product safety network overseen by the FDA. Surgeons […]

This may be the first time that the Food and Drug Administration’s adverse event reporting database has been used to research the outcome of taking an osteoporosis drug, also known as bisphosphonates. In a published study funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers from the Feinberg School of Medicine […]

He is a billionaire who loves a good stock, but apparently Johnson & Johnson is not among them. Berkshire Hathaway founder, Warren Buffett, decided to drop 34% of his stock in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to reports. Buffett has been selling off JNJ […]

You might not realize that K-Y Jelly is a medical device but it is and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not happy about claims made by Johnson & Johnson concerning the personal lubricant. As a result McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of J&J, has recalled 2.3 million […]

It is a popular antibiotic often asked for because it can be taken with fewer doses over a shorter period of time.  Now the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says azithromycin (Zithromax) has been linked to an irregular heart rhythm that can be fatal in some patients. Medical researchers […]

This report is confusing to the many people who know from experience that taking the anticoagulant Pradaxa (dabigatran) is more dangerous than warfarin (Coumadin), the treatment that’s been the standard of care for decades. According to a published perspective in the online March 14, New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), […]

With about 10,000 metal hip lawsuits filed around the country, jury selection in the second trial involving the DePuy ASR (Articular Surface Replacement) hip is underway in Cook County, Illinois with opening statements to begin mid-month. Meanwhile the jury is considering the evidence presented in Los Angeles Superior Court in […]

Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a Safety Communication to set some general guidelines for physicians and patients who have metal-on-metal (MoM) hip implants. Last month the agency also issued a proposed order that would require MoM hip manufacturers to submit premarket approval (PMA) applications before they […]

Apparently, the FDA will expedite its abbreviated 510K approval process.  The medical device industry is painting this as an improvement in the device approval process, but at what cost?  And, for who is this expedited clearance process an improvement? According to an analysis from the medical device consulting company Emergo […]