Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Amgen Inc. is “recalling some lots of its Epogen and Procrit anemia treatments because they may contain glass flakes.” (Thousand Oaks, CA, AP, 9/24). Epogen is a drug that treats anemia, and is used in patients with chronic renal failure who are on dialysis. Procrit, on the other hand, treats anemia for cancer patients on chemotherapy in addition to some patients who are infected with HIV.

The biotechnology company asserts that they have received no reports or complaints that can be directly linked to the glass flakes, but are taking this action preemptively. The drugmaker says, “the flakes are barely visible in most cases,” and are caused by an interaction between the glass containers and the drug over the product’s shelf life.
The affected drug’s lot numbers as well as expiration dates can be found on the product website.

As a medical malpractice and products liability lawyer, I encourage all patients currently taking one of these drugs to consult their doctors immediately and evaluate other pharmaceutical options.

Federal health scientists are “considering pulling Abbott Laboratories' diet pill Meridia off the market, based on data that it increases heart attack and stroke.” (Washington AP, 9/13).

Prior to a meeting where outside experts will give their judgment as to the drug’s heart risks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted its safety review of Meridia online. At the upcoming meeting, the FDA will ask experts to advice on a range of possible actions for restricting the drug. One possible solution is to pull the drug from the market entirely.

Meridia has been on the market since 1997, “but data released late last year showed patients taking the drug had more than 11 percent risk of heart attack and stroke compared with 10 percent of those taking placebo.” Although this percentage difference may seem small, when large numbers of people are consuming the drug, the increased heart risks can have substantial impact. Additionally, European regulators pulled Meridia off the market early this year.

As a medical malpractice and products liability attorney in Chicago, I encourage anyone who consumes or is considering consuming this drug to evaluate other options.

The drug maker, Roche, “has stopped giving patients its experimental diabetes treatment taspoglutide in late-stage clinical trials because of a high rate of adverse reactions, a major blow to a drug once expected to have $2 billion-a-year potential.” (Reuters on NYTimes.com, 9/12).

Roche stated that the decision to discontinue experimental treatment “was based on a higher-than-expected rate of discontinuations because of gastrointestinal intolerability and as a result of serious hypersensitivity reactions experienced by some patients.” For now, the drug maker is not abandoning the drug entirely, but is consideration reformulations.

As a medical malpractice and products liability attorney, I am pleased with Roche’s decision to discontinue experimental treatment. Although business motives would suggest alternative actions, the decision is wise for both liability and social responsibility reasons.

Emergency room visits “for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids' sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.” (L. Tanner, AP Medical, 8/30). The findings, however, do not necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise, but may perhaps suggest that people are more aware of head injuries. However, concussions are still likely under treated, as many who think they have concussions do not seek medical treatment believing that rest is all that is needed.

"It definitely is a disturbing trend," said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J. "They want to know if they can play tomorrow, and you're just like, 'No!'" she said. "It's not just as simple as get up, shake it off and you'll be fine. According to Dr. Bakhos, "If they're not treated properly, with rest, then they can have long-term problems,” including memory problems, chronic headaches, and learning difficulties
The study examined concussions “in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.”

As a medical malpractice attorney, I am concerned by this trend and urge all parents, coaches, and players to take concussions seriously.