In June 2011, the FDA released an announcement regarding the safety of the diabetes drug, Actos, and issued a warning to consumers of this drug. The FDA had been researching its link to bladder cancer and found that those people taking Actos for over a year were at an increased risk of developing bladder cancer. This warning came just a few days after both France and Germany took this pharmaceutical drug off the market completely.

The warning came as a result of an investigation the FDA conducted after hearing numerous instances of bladder cancer and tumors developing in patients taking Actos. In an ongoing study including over 193,000 participants of people with diabetes over the age of 40, the FDA discovered that those taking Actos for over a year are at a 40% higher increase for developing bladder cancer. It is alleged that the manufacturers of Actos, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, failed to adequately warn consumers of the link to bladder cancer and tumors, opening the door for possible lawsuits to ensue.

Actos has also already been linked to an increased risk of heart failure and stroke. Actos and drugs like Actos may trigger or worsen cardiac failure and other cardiac events in some patients. The high risk of not only having a heart attack but also developing bladder cancer has led the FDA to investigate carefully the complications currently associated with Actos.

Actos is a drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes by regulating the insulin levels. People with Type 2 diabetes are not able to produce enough insulin to efficiently manage the sugar levels in the blood. Actos acts to increase the sensitivity of body cells to insulin and prevent the levels of sugar in blood from rising to dangerous levels.

People across America are filing suit against Takeda Pharmaceuticals for complications arising after taking Actos. If you or someone you know has experienced either of these complications, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills or other damages. To discuss your legal options, contact the Actos litigation attorneys and Arias, Ozzello & Gignac today for a free consultation.

Federal officials have confirmed that patients in at least three U.S. states have developed eye infections from contaminated Avastin injections. California pharmaceutical products liability attorneys now know of at least four eye infection cases in California too. According to a Veterans Affairs medical center in Los Angeles, five patients have developed eye infections from the use of contaminated Avastin, and have lost their vision as a result.

According to Avastin manufacturer, Roche Holding AG’s Genentech unit, the company has received several reports of infections leading to blindness. The company has confirmed several cases of eye infections from Miami, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee and Los Angeles, California.

The cases were first reported in three clinics in Miami, and the Florida Department of Health traced the infections to contaminated syringes. The syringes were then traced to a single pharmacy. The pharmacy had taken single-use vials of Avastin and repackaged them into 1 ml syringes. The 1 ml syringes were then distributed to hospitals.

Health officials believe that the contamination occurred while the drug was being transferred from the vials to the syringes. The vials themselves do not appear to have been contaminated. The Food and Drug Administration has confirmed at least twelve cases in Miami. There are varying reports about the number of infections in Tennessee.

The California cases involve at least five patients at a Veterans Affairs medical center in Los Angeles. In most of these cases, the patients who contracted infections were being treated with Avastin injections for eye diseases like macular degeneration. Avastin is approved as a cancer drug, but is also very often used for off-label purposes, like the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases. The patients who contracted the infections have lost all vision in the infected eye.

Veterans Affairs in California has released a statement saying that its Los Angeles facility has suspended the use of Avastin for treatment of macular degeneration.

In June 2011, the FDA issued a warning for Simvastatin (brand name Zocor) because of its link to muscle damage or rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis, the most serious form of muscle damage or myopathy, damages the kidneys and could be fatal. The FDA recommended completely eliminating the prescription for 80 milligrams of Zocor, the current highest maximum dosage. The serious complications associated with Zocor are widespread as approximately 2.1 million people across the United States were prescribed a dosage of 80 milligrams of Simvastatin in the year 2010 alone.

The FDA has required Merck, the manufacturer of Zocor to add a warning to the label stipulating that Zocor dosage should be limited when mixed with other drugs. People taking the 80 milligram dosage of Zocor are at an increased risk of myopathy, especially during the first year of treatment. Most often, this increased risk, is due to the interaction of Zocor, or Simvastatin, with other medications.

Zocor is used in combination with diet and exercise to reduce cholesterol in the blood. A lower level of “bad” cholesterol helps reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular death. The 80 milligram dosage reduces the level of cholesterol by 6% more than the 40 milligram dosage. However, the high risk of muscle damage is severe enough to outweigh this increased effectiveness in the eyes of the FDA.

People across the United States are filing lawsuits against Merck for complications from taking Zocor. If you or someone you know has suffered from muscle damage, myopathy, or rhabdomyolysis, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills or other damages. To discuss your legal options, contact the Zocor litigation attorneys at Arias, Ozzello & Gignac today for a free consultation.

When the first lawsuits against Bayer, the manufacturer of Yaz/Yasmin, were filed in October 2009, only 32 complaints were included. But this number has increased exponentially over the past two years. The number of lawsuits now being filed against this pharmaceutical giant has reached 2,500 and this number is only predicted to increase in the next few years. Some experts have even predicted that this number could reach 25,000 before Bayer can even reach a decision on the initial lawsuits from 2009.

The high number of lawsuits being filed results from the widespread use of Yaz or Yasmin and the high number of women who have taken either of these drugs in the past. In 2008 alone, these birth control pills accounted for more than 28 percent of the birth control market with about $1 billion in sales for Bayer. Lawsuits allege that Bayer failed to warn women of the severe side effects and falsely advertised its benefits, possibly because of the immense revenue generated from marketing these birth control pills.

Yaz and Yasmin are contraceptives that combine estrogen and progesterone to stop ovulation and ultimately prevent pregnancy. These birth control pills have resulted in a number of serious side effects. Women taking Yaz or Yasmin are at a greater risk for stroke, heart attack, blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and gallbladder disease among other diseases. Women across the nation are filing suit against Bayer in pursuit of compensation for medical bills and other related damages. If you or someone you know has taken Yaz or Yasmin and experienced similar complications, contact the Yaz/Yasmin litigant attorneys at Arias, Ozzello & Gignac, LLP today for a free consultation.

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The number of Accutane lawsuits being filed in the state of New Jersey continues to grow with each passing day. Totals at the end of July suggest that the number of cases filed is up nearly 40% since April of 2011 alone. This is not only a testament to how widespread the use of the once-popular acne medication was, but also to how significant and lasting its side effects remain today.

Accutane, made by Hoffman-LaRoche, was used for years to treat cases of severe acne.  The drug became very popular until it was linked to causing Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis (UC).  Now thousands of plaintiffs are seeking compensation for their medical bills and treatment of such painful and life-altering diseases.  If you or someone you know has taken Accutane and has experienced such side effects, contact seasoned defective drug attorneys immediately for a free consultation.

In August 2011, the FDA issued an additional warning against the anti-fungal medication, Diflucan. Diflucan has been linked to causing birth defects in children if their mothers took Diflucan while pregnant. The FDA has also changed Diflucan from a Class C drug to a Class D drug, providing an additional warning against Diflucan for pregnant women. Currently, doctors are encouraged to warn women against the dangers of ingesting this drug if pregnant and the serious risks it poses to unborn children.    

Diflucan is an anti-fungal drug produced by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. It is used to combat yeast infections, meningitis, and other fungal infections. But when taken during pregnancy, it can pose serious risk to unborn children. Women who have taken high doses of Diflucan during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester, have reported serious birth defects in their newborns. Such defects include congenital heart disease, cleft palate, cleft lip, abnormal face or skull formations, and various other abnormalities.  

Numerous pharmaceutical drug attorneys are investigating the serious claims against Diflucan. If you or anyone you know has experienced similar problems while on Diflucan, contact the law offices of Arias, Ozzello & Gignac today for a free consultation.

In May 2011, Pfizer executives set aside $772 million for lawsuits regarding the menopause medication Prempro, a drug manufactured by Wyeth and Pfizer. Prempro has been linked to causing breast cancer in women after long-term use. Since as early as 2002, nearly 4,000 women who have contracted breast cancer after taking Prempro have filed suit against Pfizer for failure to warn of side effects and aggressive promotion of Prempro. Pfizer failed to adequately test and research Prempro to determine its adverse side effects from long-term use, resulting in a large number of women contracting breast cancer.

The drug manufacturer has recently agreed to pay $330 million to resolve 2,200 cases in which women risked higher rates of developing breast cancer.   Prempro was approved as a hormone therapy drug by the FDA in 1995. It combines progestin and estrogen to treat the many symptoms of menopause and is used by 15-20% of post-menopausal women in the United States. Its link to breast cancer has become an increasing problem and numerous lawsuits have been filed against this pharmaceutical giant.  

Women all over the country who experienced these complications are seeking compensation for medical bills, damages, suffering, and other related issues. If you or someone you know has suffered from breast cancer as a result of taking Prempro, contact a Prempro drug litigation attorney to discuss your legal options.

In November 2010, the FDA recalled the pain medications Darvon and Darvocet, both of which contain propoxyphene, due to a study linking them to heart problems and addictive qualities. Doctors have been urging the FDA to take these medications off the market for years and the FDA finally caved in to the pressure because of the substantial evidence of heart problems related to propoxyphene. These complications affect a large amount of people seeing as just last year, over 10 million people in the United States took either Darvon or Darvocet. The FDA recall has paved the way for people who have suffered these complications to file suit against the pharmaceutical giant that manufactures these drugs.

Darvon and Darvocet are medications manufactured by Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals and were approved by the FDA more than 50 years ago. They are used as pain-relievers but have several adverse side effects. Not only are they reported to cause heart problems and abnormalities, but now studies are indicating that their addictive qualities may also cause drug-related deaths or suicide. If you or someone you know has experienced any of these complications from taking Darvon or Darvocet, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, pain, and suffering. Contact a drug litigation attorney today to discuss your legal options.

The link between the use of oral contraceptives, Yaz and Yasmin, and the development of deep venous thrombosis or thromboembolism, has been evident to California Yasmin and Yaz injury lawyers for a while now.  A recent study published in the British Journal of Medicine only confirms this link. 

The results of the study were published in April 2011.  The researchers analyzed the records of two groups of women.  One group had been taking birth control pills containing drospirenone, while the other group had been taking oral contraceptives containing levonorgestrel.  The women were aged between 15 and 44.

The researchers found that the women who were taking oral contraceptives containing drospirenone, had an increased risk of developing thromboembolism or deep venous thrombosis.  Women taking pills containing drospirenone had a risk of developing blood clots that was at least 2-3 times higher than in women taking pills containing levonorgestrel.  Both Yaz and Yasmin contain drospirenone.

Deep venous thrombosis or thromboembolism is a condition in which a blood clot forms deep inside the body.  This blood clot, in some cases, can break off and move through the bloodstream, finally getting stuck in the lungs, heart, brain or any other part of the body.  This is called an embolism, and can cause severe injuries. 

These clots are usually seen in the legs, and typically affect the larger veins in the thigh and lower leg.  Symptoms of blood clots include redness in the leg, pain in the legs, tenderness, warmth of the skin, and swelling. Blood clots that are located in the heart are much more likely to break off and move into the bloodstream, causing pulmonary embolism than those located in other parts of the body. 

A new study released in the Canadian Medical Association Journal indicates that Chantix, Pfizer's popular drug used to eliminate cigarette use, increases the risk of heart attack or other serious heart conditions by 72 percent in normally healthy, middle-aged smokers. 

Johns Hopkins researchers evaluated 14 clinical trials and took data from 8,200 healthy individuals taking Chantix or a placebo in attempts to quit smoking.  After compiling all of the data the researchers discovered the staggering numbers: otherwise healthy smokers taking Chantix were 72 percent more likely to experience a cardiac event than their counterparts taking the placebo.  Lead researcher Dr. Sonal Singh estimates that approximately 62,000 serious cardiac events have occurred in the United States as a result of the drug.

When interviewed, a doctor who had success herself in quitting smoking after using this drug, noted she has stopped recommending Chantix for all of her cardiac patients, and questions whether she would have used the drug herself if warnings were properly disclosed.

Attorneys have previously filed numerous lawsuits against Chantix on behalf of individuals who have reported serious injuries due to other side effects of the drug.  Now, California defective drug attorneys are evaluating the possibility of filing Chantix lawsuits related to serious heart conditions.