"Health News - Medicine, Diet and Fitness"

Permax Was Voluntarily Withdrawn From the U.S. Market Earlier This Year At The Insistence of FDA

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

As you may recall, the Parkinson disease drug Permax was voluntarily withdrawn from the U.S. market in late March 2007 after studies in the New England Journal of Medicine underscored the increased risk of serious heart valve damage associated with Permax.

In Canada, however, Eli Lilly Canada Inc. had continued to sell Permax (pergolide).

This Second Edition Has Detailed, Useful Information For Doctors And Pharmacists

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

The August 9, 2007 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has an insightful book review by John P. Burke, M.D., of LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT, which does a very good job of introducing us to a valuable new book, “Medication Errors”, second edition, edited by Michael R. Cohen.

As has been reported previously, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates that at least 1.5 million Americans are sickened, injured, or killed each year by medication errors.

SACRAMENTO—Members of the OURx Bill of Rights Coalition gathered in the state Capitol this morning to applaud Governor Schwarzenegger’s signature of AB 2911 (N

Washington, DC — In a victory for consumers, the Senate today passed the “Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act” sponsored by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) by a vote of 93 to 1.

The bill attempts to please both the powerful pharmaceutical industry and consumer groups.

Statement of CALPIRG Health Care Advocate Emily Clayton on the prescription drug discount agreement

“CALPIRG is pleased to join a broad coalition of organizations representing consumers, seniors, working families and communities of color in supporting SB 1702 and AB 2911 by Senator Perata and Speaker N

SACRAMENTO—The Senate Health Committee today passed SB 1683, the Pharmaceutical Drug Right-to-Know Act. The bill, authored by Senator Jack Scott (Alta Dena) and sponsored by CALPIRG, would require drug companies to release the results of all their health studies for every drug sold in California.

“The Vioxx and Paxil scandals have made it perfectly clear that drug companies won’t voluntarily tell the public the whole truth,” said Emily Clayton, CALPIRG’s Health Care Advocate. “This legislation represents the best hope that doctors, researchers and patients have of getting some real answers about the safety and effectiveness of their medicines.”

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California bill will prod national decision makers, serve in lieu of federal policy if Congress fails to act

SACRAMENTO—The California Assembly Health Committee passed the Pharmaceutical Drug Information and Safety Act, SB 606 (Scott), today with all members present voting in favor of the bill. The measure will require pharmaceutical companies to disclose the results of clinical studies, meaning that doctors, patients, researchers and even industry competitors will gain access to information on the side effects and effectiveness of medicine currently on the market.

“Asking doctors to write prescriptions without access to all the studies is like asking legislators to pass a bill without letting them see each of the measure’s provisions,” said Steve Blackledge. “The system can’t work that way, and we’ll end up with tragedies like the ones triggered by Vioxx.”

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CALPIRG and Senator Scott introduce the Pharmaceutical Drug Right-to-Know Act

SACRAMENTO—Responding to public outcry over recent prescription drug scandals, CALPIRG and Senator Jack Scott (D-Altadena) have introduced legislation in Sacramento to make sure that drug companies finally come clean about the safety of the medicines. The bill, SB 1683, requires drug companies to publicly disclose the results of all their clinical trials for each drug they sell in California.

“No one would expect consumers to buy a car without knowing the gas mileage or how it would hold up in an accident,” said Emily Clayton, CALPIRG’s Health Care Advocate. “Yet, when it comes to lifesaving medicines, current law allows the pharmaceutical industry to keep much of this safety and effectiveness information from us. That’s wrong and it’s time for California to fix the problem.”

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SACRAMENTO—In the wake of ongoing disclosures about pharmaceutical companies’ suppression of negative clinical trial results, a Pacifica father joined labor, senior, health, and consumer groups on the steps of the Capitol to call on members of the state Assembly to pass legislation that could prevent another tragedy like the one suffered by his family.

James Torlakson’s daughter committed suicide in 2004 while taking Celexa, an anti-depressant whose side-effects were downplayed by its manufacturer. The makers of Celexa and other antidepressants like it have come under increasing scrutiny for their failure to warn doctors and patients about negative studies involving the drugs’ use in adolescents.

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Uninsured Sacramento Residents Pay 68 Percent More than the Federal Government

SACRAMENTO—Uninsured consumers in Sacramento pay 68 percent more for common prescription drugs than the federal government does for the same medications, according to, “Paying the Price: The High Cost of Prescription Drugs for Uninsured Californians” a new California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) Education Fund report released today.

“It’s an outrage that those who can least afford prescription drugs—California’s 6.6 million uninsured—pay the highest prices,” said Emily Clayton, CALPIRG Education Fund’s Health Care Advocate. “HMOS, the federal government, and other large purchasers use their buying power to negotiate better prices, but when the uninsured go to fill their prescriptions, they go it alone.”

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