Blog

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers that some popular over-the-counter acne medications may cause serious allergic reactions and tissue damage that can limit breathing and cause swelling of the face. The exact ingredients causing the trouble may not be known. Consumers should stop using these products if […]

Oregon, Washington State and Vermont say the slogans for 5-Hour Energy drink are hype that is misleading. Last week the Attorneys General of all three states filed lawsuits against the drink’s maker, Living Essentials LLC and Innovation Ventures LLC of Farmington Hills, Michigan. They are seeking civil penalties against the […]

The public needs to understand that an additive used by industry to fatten cattle up before slaughter has been banned by China, Russia and the European Union. What do they know that the U.S. doesn’t? The drug is called Zilmax and it’s made by Merck & Co.  Last year Merck […]

A newly published study involving 24,000 male Medicare patients given testosterone treatment has fuelled the ongoing debate about the risk-versus-benefit of testosterone therapy in men. In this newest study, the hormone reportedly did not increase the risk of heart attack and actually seemed to lower the risk by about 30 […]

Morcellator is a surgical instrument sold under the name of Gynecare Morcellex, Morcellex Sigma and Gynecare X-Tract, and which are used for division and removal of large masses of tissues during laparoscopic surgery.  Morcellators are also used in minimally invasive surgery to perform hysterectomies and in the removal of uterine […]

The FDA issued a new draft guidance on July 15th which further explains how the FDA currently fails to protect consumers of medical devices and pharmaceutical drugs. It is important to remember that these sort of FDA-issued guidances are non-binding and only “represent the Food and Drug Administration’s current thinking […]

The power morcellator, a surgical device used to mince large masses of tissue inside the body so the material can be extracted through small incisions, has been the center of debate since the Food and Drug Administration discouraged its use in April. A study by doctors at Columbia University, published […]

It was a year ago February that Linda and Jeff Gross of Watertown, South Dakota were awarded $11.1 million following their four-week defective pelvic mesh trial against Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. This week the verdict was upheld in the product liability case. Atlantic County Superior Court Judge […]

It is a very common practice. Drug sales reps visit a client, usually a hospital, a clinic or a doctor, with the sole purpose of selling a drug or medical device. That is the primary way a doctor learns about a drug or device, but it is fraught with problems. […]

Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon division tried, as it had before, to have its upcoming federal transvaginal mesh case thrown out of court. The healthcare giant was unsuccessful. On July 8, Judge Joseph Goodwin, who is overseeing about 75,000 federal transvaginal mesh cases in Charleston, West Virginia, ruled that federal preemption […]