Archive for 2009

Mom Alert – Infant & Children Tylenol Recall

September 25th, 2009. By AbiK

If you’re like me, you’ve already started to stockpile the usual meds for cold and flu and fever season. With kids back to school, back to daycare, and with all the frenzy over potential flu outbreaks, it’s almost a necessity. But check your medicine cabinets for this one: Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil division has voluntarily recalled 57 lots of infants’ and children’s liquid Tylenol products because of possible bacterial contamination.

According to J&J, an inactive ingredient didn’t meet internal testing requirements and B. cepacia bacteria were detected in a portion of raw material that went unused in the finished product. J&J went on to say that no bacteria were found in the finished product, and that the likelihood of a serious medical event is remote. However, in consultation with the FDA, the company decided to recall the products.

If you have questions, call the consumer call center at 1-800-962-5357.

Here’s the full list for the Tylenol Recall:

(source: Tylenol.com) Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: tylenol, Tylenol Recall
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Avandia and Alzheimer’s…What If?

September 24th, 2009. By LucyC

So here’s an interesting twist. Avandia, also known as rosiglitazone, once GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) blockbuster diabetes drug that turned out to be not so good for you after all, has failed to prove benefit in clinical trials as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. 

Why was GSK testing Avandia in Alzheimer’s, you ask? Well, sales of Avandia plummeted after the now infamous Nissen study was published in 2007 showing a link between the diabetes medication and heart attacks. In fact, one source puts 2008 sales down by 40 percent from 2007. So, GSK was looking for a new indication that would generate some cash—up to $300 million one estimate suggests. 

So GSK must look for new ailments for Avandia. After all—product recycling applies to the pharmaceutical industry just as it does in other industries. 

But what if Avandia had proven beneficial in treating Alzheimer’s—whatever ‘beneficial’ was defined as being? It is unlikely that the risk for heart attack would have disappeared or not been an issue in this population. So I find myself wondering about the ethics of testing a drug with an established link to potentially fatal adverse events, such as heart attack, in a population that may not be able to articulate their health problems. Not only that, had Avandia made the grade, would the FDA have approved the indication, despite the health risks? 

Perhaps the most worrying element of all this is why Avandia is being tested at all for any additional indications, when there are very real concerns about it remaining on the market in the first place.

Tags: Avandia, Glaxo, GlaxoSmithKline
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Strange Bedfellows: Botched Facelift Victim and…SunTrust?

September 23rd, 2009. By AbiK

If you love a bit of irony, this one’s for you.

Betty Nestlehutt has found herself in the news spotlight lately. Betty’s a septagenarian out of Marietta, GA who underwent facelift surgery back in 2006—she’s a realtor and, according to reports, she had the facelift to be able to compete with younger real estate agents. The facelift didn’t go so well, and so sued for malpractice. But then a strange thing happened at court—she not only won, she won big: to the tune of over $1.2 million. Probably small solace for all she’d been through.

Regardless, she’s the center of attention again in 2009 because her case has become the center of a new case—the one in which her attorneys have asked the Georgia State Supreme Court to overturn a state law that caps damages in medical malpractice lawsuits at $350,000. (If you’re doing the math, yes, Betty’s settlement was greater than the $350k cap).

Now, here’s the irony. As any curious blogger would do, I went to check out Betty online. And I found her real estate site—she’s with Prudential. And as I’m scrolling…ta da!…there it is: a nice-sized display ad for SunTrust mortgages.

And I’m thinking of another set of septagenarians and beyond who allegedly found their SunTrust HELOC accounts frozen. And I’m wondering if Betty knew about that situation. And I’m just thinking of the irony…older real estate agent feels potential age discrimination in the marketplace, has botched facelift, sues, wins, displays advertising from company that allegedly, sorta kinda may have engaged in a bit of age discrimination…

God bless Betty and all she’s been through; and God help all those folks still waiting on answers from SunTrust…

Tags: Malpractice, SunTrust
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Financial, Personal Injury | No Comments »

Can Anyone trust SunTrust?

September 23rd, 2009. By Kristine B

Maybe it’s just me, but it kind of seems like no one who’s put their trust in SunTrust can actually trust that they are being taken care of by SunTrust. Ok, that was a mouthful. But let’s do a little ‘splaining and it’ll all make sense.

First, there were the clients who said that their SunTrust HELOC accounts had been frozen or decreased with no justification or warning—sad, but unfortunately not the first time a company has been accused of treating its clients improperly (when will these companies learn?) Also not surprising is that these clients have taken to the courts in an attempt to tell SunTrust that they are just not gonna take this lying down. 

Now comes news that SunTrust faces a lawsuit, not from clients but from employees, saying the company violated ERISA laws by breaching its fiduciary duty to people involved in the company’s investment plans, profit sharing retirement plans or SunTrust Banks stock.  Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: SunTrust
Posted in Financial | No Comments »

FDA Lashes Back at Latisse

September 23rd, 2009. By AbiK

If you’ve been following what’s hot in beauty, you’ve seen the ads for Allergan‘s (also maker of Botox) Latisse where Brooke Shields lends her face to promote the eyelash enhancer. And you’ve probably caught the onslaught of vibrating mascaras. Yes, all this to “play up” what amounts to 1/1,000,000,000,000,000th of the surface area on a woman’s body.

But those tiny lashes are big business. Allergan had estimated pre-launch of Latisse that the previously-only-known-as glaucoma treatment could rake in over $500 million a year. Who knows just how much a mascara wand that needs batteries could bring in. I admit to owning one, but I also admit it was a gift and after thoroughly cleaning it, it actually makes a handy gizmo for cleaning tile grout (beauty tip!).

The FDA, however, is not so wowed by all the hoopla surrounding Latisse. In fact, it appears the Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Allergan, Latisse
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 11 Comments »