August 2014 — A label change was required by the FDA to include shingles as a possible side effect after numerous reports of the vaccination causing shingles. Reference: Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Zostavax.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines/zostavax.
Continue Reading2014 — AstraZeneca settled 84 Byetta and Bydureon cases related to cancer claims for an undisclosed amount. Reference: Kirk, Austin. “Byetta Settlements Reached in 84 Cases, But Hundreds of Lawsuits Remain.” AboutLawsuitscom, 8 Aug. 2014, www.aboutlawsuits.com/byetta-settlements-cases-remain-68830/.
Continue ReadingJune 2014 – The FDA issued a safety communication about the potential for patients to experience intoxication during or after the use of Taxotere due to the presence of ethanol in docetaxel. Reference: “FDA Warns That Cancer Drug Docetaxel May Cause Symptoms of Alcohol.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-drug-safety-communication-fda-warns-cancer-drug-docetaxel-may-cause-symptoms-alcohol
Continue ReadingMost of us have been affected by drunken driving in some way – whether through personal experience or through our acquaintance with someone else’s personal experience – and yet it continues to occur despite our awareness of the problem. In a society where it’s always “5 o’clock somewhere,” the legal ramifications of drinking and driving are well established, and...
Continue Reading2014 — A relationship between exposure to glyphosate and B cell lymphoma was found in 2014 after researchers studied 44 different scientific publications. The publications covered 32 years’ worth of data on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and pesticide exposure. Reference: Moncivais, Katy. “Roundup Cancer Lawsuit: 2020 Updates & Settlements.” Consumer Safety, 8 Jan. 2021, https://www.consumersafety.org/product-lawsuits/roundup/
Continue Reading2013 — In 2013, the FDA was still investigating the link between incretin mimetics and pancreatic disease. They released a drug safety communication reporting the possibility of incretin mimetics increasing the risk of pancreatitis as well as causing pre-cancerous changes in the pancreas. They also cited a study, which was unpublished at the time, that found how the use...
Continue ReadingAugust 2013 — In August 2013, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred the first 53 cases against Merck, Amylin, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to MDL No. 2452. The original cases came from state courts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Since all of the lawsuits claim the drugs caused pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis, the...
Continue ReadingA previous Merck researcher is now assisting litigation against such drug manufacturers over diabetes treatments that he found were linked to pancreatic cancer. Dr. Peter Butler tested Merck’s drug Januvia on rats in 2008 and discovered changes in the rats’ pancreases that he worried could lead to cancer. Butler’s follow-up research to confirm the linkage is now fueling investigations...
Continue Reading2013 — The medical journal Cornea describes a case in which a 63-year-old man experienced a reactivation of his keratitis after having the Zostavax vaccine. References: Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Approved Products – Zostavax.” Internet Archive Wayback Machine, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20170722150959/https:/www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/ucm136941.htm. Hwang, Charles W, et al. “Reactivation of Herpes Zoster Keratitis in an...
Continue ReadingMay 2012 – A study published in the Annals of Oncology revealed that, of the 20 female participants who received Taxotere, 19 developed permanent hair loss. One participant who was being treated for recurrent breast cancer had previously undergone chemotherapy with a different drug and had complete hair regrowth, but after using Taxotere, she suffered from permanent hair loss....
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