Latest Drugs Headlines

All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.

U.S. Doctors Say Lawsuits Help Guarantee Drug Safety

Aug 18 2008 // Top doctors who run one of the most influential U.S. medical journals are giving the U.S. Supreme Court some unsolicited legal advice about a major case. Lawsuits can serve as “a vital deterrent” and protect...

Alabama Judge Upholds Fraud Verdict against AstraZeneca, Trims Judgment

Jun 24 2008 // An Alabama judge upheld the fraud verdict that the state won against AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP in a Medicaid drug pricing suit, but ruled the punitive damages were too high, trimming the total judgment to $160...

U.S. Medical Device Makers Fear Rise in State Lawsuits

Jun 24 2008 // The U.S. medical device industry’s worst short-term fear may be actor Dennis Quaid. Quaid last month urged Congress to preserve patients’ rights to sue drug and device makers in state courts, after his twin...

Jury Selection Begins in Alabama for Trial of 70 Pharmaceutical Firms

Jun 17 2008 // Jury selection is beginning in the next trial of Alabama’s lawsuits against more than 70 pharmaceutical companies for allegedly overcharging the state’s Medicaid program. A jury is being selected June 17 in the...

Declarations

Jun 2 2008 // Insurance Industry Move “Shortly after September 11, it became very clear to me that the federal government lacks the expertise it needs on insurance policy. Our experiences after Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing...

FDA Unveils Plan to Track Safety of Drugs, Medical Devices Already Sold

Jun 2 2008 // U.S. health officials announced plans on May 22 for a new computer tracking system designed to help them identify dangers from prescription drugs and medical devices already on the market. The system would enable the Food...

Trucking Under the Influence: Is a National Clearinghouse Needed?

May 23 2008 // It is estimated that somewhere between 1 percent and 10 percent of drivers of commercial or “big rig” trucks are operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol on any given day. The American Trucking...

FDA Unveils Plan to Track Safety of Drugs, Medical Devices

May 23 2008 // U.S. health officials Thursday announced plans for a new computer tracking system designed to help them identify dangers from prescription drugs and medical devices already on the market. The system would enable the Food...

Trucking Under the Influence

May 19 2008 // Number of Drug and Alcohol Abusing Truckers Unknown It is estimated that somewhere between 1 percent and 10 percent of drivers of commercial or “big rig” trucks are operating under the influence of drugs or...

Weed, Whites, and Wine

May 19 2008 // “If you give me weed, whites and wine And you show me a sign I’ll be willin’ to be movin'” Those lyrics, from Lowell George’s song “Willin'” — recorded by Little Feat and Linda...

Trucking Under the Influence

May 19 2008 // Number of Drug and Alcohol Abusing Truckers Unknown It is estimated that somewhere between 1 percent and 10 percent of drivers of commercial or “big rig” trucks are operating under the influence of drugs or...

Trucking Under the Influence

May 19 2008 // Number of Drug and Alcohol Abusing Truckers Unknown It is estimated that somewhere between 1 percent and 10 percent of drivers of commercial or “big rig” trucks are operating under the influence of drugs or...

Congress Urged to Back Drugmaker Liability Suits

May 15 2008 // U.S. actor Dennis Quaid urged the U.S. Congress Wednesday to preserve patients’ rights to sue drugmakers for injuries, recounting how his newborn twins nearly died from an accidental drug overdose. Quaid and his wife...

Report: Bush Administration Rulemaking Limits Consumer Lawsuits

May 15 2008 // Faced with an unfriendly Congress, the Bush administration has found another, quieter way to make it more difficult for consumers to sue businesses over faulty products. It’s rewriting the bureaucratic...

Pennsylvania Troopers Make Record Number of DUI Arrests

May 7 2008 // Pennsylvania’s State Police last year arrested 15,583 people for driving under the influence, a 3 percent increase over the number arrested for DUI in 2007, and the highest total for a single year in the...

$1.5 Million Pharmacy Robot Promises to Reduce Medical Drug Errors

Apr 28 2008 // A new pharmacy robot at Loyola University Hospital is designed to eliminate the type of life-threatening human medication errors that injured actor Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins. Loyola’s pharmacy recently began...

Vermont Considers Special Car Locks for Repeat Drunk Drivers

Apr 23 2008 // The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says he wants Vermont to study special ignition locks for repeat drunken drivers that would require a clean breath test before allowing a car to be started. “My intention...

U.S. Watchdog Critical of FDA Foreign Drug Oversight

Apr 22 2008 // U.S. authorities increased inspections of foreign drug plants last year but still checked only a fraction of sites that supply medicine ingredients to the U.S. market, a government watchdog is set to tell Congress...

La. AG Drops Predecessor’s Case Against Biotech Company

Apr 10 2008 // Louisiana’s attorney general has withdrawn a multimillion-dollar antitrust lawsuit his predecessor filed on his final day in office against drug-maker Amgen Inc. Former Attorney General Charles Foti hired several...

Thalidomide Victims Seek $6.3 Billion

Apr 3 2008 // Half a century after the launch of the notorious morning sickness pill thalidomide, its surviving victims are demanding €4 billion ($6.3 billion) in compensation from the German government and the drug’s maker. A...