Author Archive

Yaz by the Numbers: the Warning, the Recall, the Profit, the Lawsuits

May 12th, 2010. By Kristine B

As Bayer adds new warnings to its birth control pills in the wake of lawsuits regarding Yaz and Yasmin, we thought it would be a good idea to break Yasmin and Yaz down by the numbers. 

2001: The year Yasmin came on the market

2006: The year Yaz came on the market

2008: The year Bayer (maker of Yasmin and Yaz) received a warning from the FDA about overstating the pills’ effectiveness while minimizing their risks

2008: The year Ocella receives FDA approval; Ocella is the generic version of Yaz that is manufactured by Barr, which is owned by Teva

2009: The year Bayer launches new $20 million ad campaign to address the FDA’s warning

2009: The year the FDA issued a recall on certain lots of Yaz and Ocella for “Out of Specification analytical value for chemical assays of drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol was averaged with another analytical value to provide a reported result that was within specification.”

2010: The year Bayer added new warnings about the risks of blood clots linked to Yasmin and Yaz

1,100: Approximate number of lawsuits filed against Bayer regarding Yasmin and Yaz

$1.64 billion: Approximate profit Bayer reportedly made from Yasmin and Yaz during 2009

993: Number of reports the FDA received by November, 2009, of cases of pulmonary embolism linked to Yaz or Yasmin

487: Number of reports the FDA received of deep vein thrombosis

229: Number of reports the FDA received of other blood clots

800: Number of Canadians who have joined class-action lawsuits against Bayer

50: Number of women who reportedly died after taking Yaz, as of July, 2009

6.3: The number of times the risk of developing a blood clot is increased in women who take Yasmin or Yaz, according to a study in the British Medical Journal.

Note: Bayer has defended the birth control pills, saying they are safe and effective.

All stats taken from the FDA.gov, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Calgary Herald, BusinessWeek, The Bulletin (Philadelphia) and WISH tv, in addition to the British Medical Journal.

Tags: Birth Control, Contraceptive, Ocella, Yasmin, Yaz
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Antidepressant Guide: the Brands, the Generics & Who Makes Them

May 6th, 2010. By Kristine B

These days, there are many drugs to keep track of. It’s not just the brand name drug anymore; patients could be taking a generic equivalent. So, this week, Pleading Ignorance looks at the SSRIs and SNRIs to give you the brand name, manufacturer, generic version and the generic’s manufacturer. Consider it your one-stop cheat sheet on some of the more commonly prescribed antidepressants.

Brand name	Ingredient	Made By	Generic	Made By
Celexa (SSRI)	citalopram hydrobromide	Forest Laboratories	citalopram	Eon Labs, Inc., Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Purepac Pharmaceutical Co., Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited, Corepharma LLC
Lexapro (SSRI)	escitalopram oxalate	Forest Laboratories	escitalopram	Alphrapharm
Paxil/Seroxat    (SSRI)	paroxetine hydrochloride	GlaxoSmithKline	paroxetine	Apotex, Alphapharm, Teva, Aurobindo Pharma, Zydus Pharms USA, Caraco
Prozac (SSRI)	fluoxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	fluoxetine	ESI Lederle (tentative approval)
Symbyax (SSRI)	olanzapine and fluoxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	olanzapine/ fluoxetine	Teva Pharms (tentative approval, July 17, 2007)
Zoloft (SSRI)	sertraline hydrochloride	Pfizer Pharmaceuticals	sertraline	Dr Reddy’s Labs Ltd, Teva, Genpharm, Aurobindo Pharma, Sandoz and many others
Zyprexa (atypical antipsychotic)	olanzapine	Eli Lilly and Company	olanzapine	All tentative approval: Dr. Reddy’s Labs Inc, Teva Pharms, Mylan PHarma, Sandoz, Barr Pharms, Roxane
Cymbalta (SNRI)	duloxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	duloxetine	No generic so far as I can tell
Effexor (SNRI)	venlafaxine	Wyeth	venlafaxine hydrochloride	Aurobindo, Mylan, Teva, Dr Reddy’s Labs Ltd, Caraco and others

The information in the chart above was found at either drugs@fda, or on the individual drug manufacturer’s website. As far as I can tell, this information is correct as of the date it was written—and it is not intended to replace the information you might receive from your doctor or medical practitioner (hey, have to say it, we’re a legal site). Talk to your doctor or pharmicist for medical advice.

Tags: Antidepressants, Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, paxil, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Pleading Ignorance, Prozac, SSRI, Symbyax, Zoloft, Zyprexa
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 1 Comment »

Car Accident Fault and Getting What You’re Owed

April 21st, 2010. By Kristine B

If you’re one of those people who “don’t like to focus on fault”, you’ll quickly find yourself focusing on it should you be involved in a car accident. Not that anyone likes pointing fingers, but unfortunately, the state you live in probably uses a little finger-pointing to determine what damages should be awarded to each party in the aftermath of an accident. Some states use either Contributory or Comparative Negligence to determine damages…and you should know which, if any, your state uses.

 

Since I spoke with Missouri attorney John Page about comparative negligence, I thought it would be a great idea for this edition of Pleading Ignorance to explain what comparative negligence is, and compare it to contributory negligence. Knowing whether your state uses contributory negligence, comparative negligence—or even modified comparative negligence will help you to determine what damages you are entitled to if you are in a car accident. 

Note—here’s a refresher on negligence in general. Also, a number of you are probably familiar with the concepts of “Fault” and “No Fault” car insurance states—they’re related to this topic, but we won’t cover those here; look for them in an upcoming Pleading Ignorance. Now, back to car accident negligence… 

Contributory Negligence 

Contributory negligence is a system of fault in which the injured party can only obtain compensation for injuries and damages if he or she did not contribute to the accident in any way. This means that if you’re in a car accident and the driver of the other vehicle is 99 percent at fault but you are 1 percent at fault, you won’t receive any damages. You’re out of luck. You can’t in any way be even a little bit at fault for the accident or you’ll get nothing in monetary damages.  

So, to use an example: let’s say that Becky is attempting to make a left turn at an intersection. Chris speeds through the intersection on a red and hits Becky. The jury finds Chris 80 percent Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Negligence, Pleading Ignorance
Posted in Accidents, Automotive, Pleading Ignorance | 1 Comment »

Antidepressants: Know What They’re Winding You Up With

April 16th, 2010. By Kristine B

C’mon. You know you’ve seen that Pristiq ad once or twice—the one with that little wind-up doll (yes, the one with the circa-1970’s get-up that would drive any of us into a state of mild depression)—and you’ve thought to yourself, “Gee, I’ve had days when I kind of felt that way”. Admit it folks, you’ve been there—maybe not in mauve polyester, but you’ve been there.

Now, you may or may not have taken that thought to the next level: the “I need help” level. Most of us don’t. But if you have, you’ve most likely “talked to your doctor” as only “he can determine whether [fill in anti-depressant drug name here] is right for you”.

And if you’ve left your doctor’s office with a little slip of paper to be dropped off at the pharmacy, you may have been prescribed an SSRI, SNRI, NDRI or MAOI. Perhaps you’re feeling high as a kite on the hopes that you’ll be giddier than a glee club as soon as you get that scrip filled. But, take pause. For while you fantasize about your future mental state, do you really know what you’ve just been given?

What follows is a mini primer to the world of anti-depressants—and, as this is a legal news site, the links provided will lead you to information on safety concerns and some of the resulting litigation that’s gone on.

There are actually many different types of antidepressants. Not just the brand names, but the actual types of drugs themselves that work on different chemicals in the brain. Generally, antidepressants aim to reverse depressive symptoms and stabilize mood by increasing the amounts of certain chemicals that are found in the brain. The type of antidepressant depends on the chemicals being affected. 

Depression 

Although there is no one answer to the question, “What causes depression?” scientists believe that chemicals in the brain play a role in some forms of depression. The brain has several hundred types of chemical messengers—also called neurotransmitters—that send messages between brain cells. Of these, three neurotransmitters specifically are targeted by the various antidepressants, to different degrees. 

Serotonin is thought to play a role in controlling anxiety, mood, sleep, sexuality and appetite. 

Norepinephrine is thought to play a role in sleep and alertness and is also thought to play Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Antidepressant, Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, MAOI, NDRI, paxil, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Pristiq, Prozac, SNRI, SSRI, Wellbutrin, Zoloft
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 3 Comments »

Pleading Ignorance: How’d I get Sucked into a Lawnmower Class Action?

April 15th, 2010. By Kristine B

This one’s going out to all who asked the question, “How the heck did I get involved in this lawn mower lawsuit?”…

LawyersAndSettlements.com has received an overwhelming response to our post about the gas-powered lawn mower settlement. Makes you realize how many of us are out there every weekend preening those lush green carpets. So the response was great—and we’re glad we could not only tell everyone about the settlement, but also that we were able to help with your questions.

It brings up something about class action lawsuits though: most of us don’t really know much about ’em until some little postcard or letter shows up in the mail telling you that “You may be entitled to…” We realized that a number of you may wonder just how the heck a class action starts and how it all works. So, in this week’s Pleading Ignorance, I’ll try to help you understand it a bit more. 

FYI, we always have a class action FAQ here, but for a little more explanation, read on…

Class action lawsuits are filed when a large number of people have similar complaints. To make life easier for the plaintiffs and for the courts, the complaints are combined into one class action lawsuit. By combining the complaints, the courts hear all of the concerns at the same time and one settlement applies to all parties involved.

It’s a fair bet, too, that if so many folks have an issue with something, there’s more out there that have the issue as well; by filing a class action, every individual who is potentially a part of the “class” for the lawsuit is, technically, represented by the lawsuit. That why a lot of you asked how the heck you got selected for the lawn mower lawsuit settlement…that’s how: you bought one, you’re in. The class action has your back, so to speak—if you want it to. If you think you have a better chance of suing on your own, you can opt out of the class action and retain the right to sue on your own. 

Every class action lawsuit has a representative; a plaintiff who represents all members of the class. The representative is the person named in the lawsuit and may also be referred to as the lead plaintiff Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Pleading Ignorance
Posted in Emerging Issues, Pleading Ignorance | No Comments »