FDA Tag Archives — Alabama Injury Lawyer Blog

Published on: September 10, 2020

Four Ways Zantac (Ranitidine) Leads To Cancer

I’ve written several articles discussing Ranitidine (brand name Zantac) and cancer injuries. For a longer discussion on the background and history of Zantac, you can click the link and read our report at Zantac Cancer Lawsuits. I’ve also written several other Zantac articles which you can read on the Blackwell Law Firm Blog. We will continue to follow the growing Zantac research linking the drug to cancer injuries.

In my prior articles, I provided an overview of NDMA — the cancer causing substance associated with Zantac. No safe level of NDMA exists. NDMA is highly toxic. Ranitidine (Zantac) breaks down to create toxic, cancer-causing NDMA. In recent years, our firm has handled Alabama injury cases involving several different cancer-causing medications. But, Zantac is especially dangerous. Why? What makes Zantac so dangerous is that it breaks down in more than one way to put consumers at risk of injury. In other words, Ranitidine reacts in multiple ways to produce cancer causing NDMA. Here, are four ways Ranitidine leads to cancer-causing NDMA that can harm you:

RANITIDINE LEADS TO CANCER-CAUSING NDMA FORMATION IN THE HUMAN STOMACH

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Published on: August 17, 2020

When Prescription Medications Cause Cancer

By Jeff Blackwell

We trust our medications are safe. They should be. After all, the medications we use are approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Yet, some prescription medications cause tremendous personal injuries or deaths to patients. In some cases, drug companies withhold research or even mislead the FDA into approving their products. When that happens, doctors and patients only learn the truth after years of needless suffering.

In recent years, we’ve learned that some common medications may actually cause cancer. I’ll give three recent examples of popular medications linked to cancer — two from current investigations by our firm and one from a prior case. With some medications, we must ask: Does the harm of some medications far outweigh their benefit?

Belviq (Current Cases)

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Published on: May 11, 2020

Does The Weight Loss Drug Belviq Cause Cancer?

By Jeff Blackwell

Weight Loss Drug Health Risks

Does the drug Belviq cause cancer? Are patients being injured by this medication? Recent research casts a big shadow over this drug. We are closely watching current developments.

What Is Belviq? Why Was It Marketed?

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Published on: April 18, 2020

Zantac Pulled From Shelves Due To Cancer Risks

By Jeff Blackwell

On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requested that manufacturers withdraw ALL prescription and over-the-counter ranitidine drugs immediately. Here is how the FDA began its announcement:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it is requesting manufacturers withdraw all prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) ranitidine drugs from the market immediately.

What is ranitidine? You may know this medication as Zantac, its brand name.

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Published on: November 11, 2019

JUUL — More Dangerous Than Cigarettes!

By Jeff Blackwell

JUUL Made False Marketing Claims (To Young Adults)

In September 2019, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to JUUL Labs. The FDA warning letter ordered JUUL to stop marketing its product as safer than cigarettes. The FDA cited testimony that JUUL had been marketing its vaping products as “modified risk tobacco products.” That means, the company claimed its product presented a lower risk of tobacco-related disease or was less harmful than traditional tobacco products. Here’s the real catch — JUUL actually presented at school programs. The Congressional testimony contained evidence of a JUUL representative actually speaking at a school and telling students their product “was much safer than cigarettes.” You can read more about the FDA letter in a Washington Post article titled FDA Blasts JUUL For Illegally Marketing E-Cigarettes As Less Harmful Than Regular Cigarettes.

JUUL Pods Have High Levels Of Nicotine

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Published on: August 13, 2018

Do Kickbacks Drive The Sale Of Dangerous Drugs And Medical Devices?

By Jeff Blackwell

I remember listening as the doctor testified about his trips to Las Vegas. That’s where the medical device company took him to “discuss” its product. After these trips to Las Vegas, the doctor returned home and began implanting the product into countless Alabama patients.

At the time, I was surprised. Shocked. But, that was also the first time I had deposed an implanting doctor in one of these cases. In the years since, I have seen far too many instances of drug and device companies trying to tempt physicians into prescribing or implanting certain products.

In some cases, the physician may not even be fully trained in the potential issues of the drug or product at issue. I think this is an issue with transvaginal mesh implants. These products were heavily marketed to local physicians and regularly implanted in women. Yet, the potential problems from mesh implants can be tremendous. When problems occur, the same implanting physicians are often unable to help. I recently deposed a surgeon at a major research hospital who has tried to help one of my clients suffering from implanted mesh. Here is what that specialist said:

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Published on: February 26, 2018

New Blood Test Approved To Detect Traumatic Brain Injury

By Jeff Blackwell

In a prior post, I asked “Can A Simple Blood Test Reveal Traumatic Brain Injury?” At the time, the research looked promising. After writing that prior post, we continued to follow developments. Now, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a blood test for this purpose.

Why is a blood test for traumatic brain injury (TBI) significant? In a short answer — Many TBI victims suffer without a diagnosis, without treatment and without understanding. Following a traumatic incident, emergency rooms frequently fail to diagnose TBI cases.

Think about it. After a serious accident, you rush to the hospital. Suddenly, you are in a crowded emergency room. It can be a chaotic scene. While emergency rooms are designed to handle “emergencies” like yours, they are also overflowing with patients who lack the resources or finances to seek basic care elsewhere. Emergency room physicians and nurses work hard. They have hard jobs. They work to treat all patients. But, life and death issues take priority. They must. With so many patients and so many problems, many significant TBI cases go undiagnosed and untreated. After all, many TBI patients look normal.

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Published on: October 23, 2017

Are Medical And Legal Articles Trustworthy?

By Jeff Blackwell

A recent study estimated a significant percentage of medical studies are ghostwritten. The really troubling detail — Up to half of all medical studies may be ghostwritten by companies with a financial interest in the research.

Next time you see or read a medical article listing a researcher or physician as the author, take a step back. Did the listed author really write the article? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe a drug company or medical device company funded and really authored the article.

Consider the revealing article published by former ghostwriter Linda Logdberg. The article is titled Being the Ghost in the Machine: A Medical Ghostwriter’s Personal View. How does Ms. Logdberg now feel about her former career?

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Published on: June 26, 2017

Dangerous Drugs: Side Effects Common After FDA Approval

By Jeff Blackwell

Recent research shows a dangerous problem with many newly approved drugs. Life-threatening side effects are common in the years following FDA approval. An article titled “Study: Side effects emerge after approval for many US drugs” details the new research. The article’s opening paragraph sums it up:

Almost one-third of new drugs approved by U.S. regulators over a decade ended up years later with warnings about unexpected, sometimes life-threatening side effects or complications . . .

This new study followed all prescription drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2001 through 2010. The drugs flagged because of serious post-approval problems included medications for common medical problems such as arthritis, infections, blood clots and depression. The study’s lead author (an associate professor at Yale University) said “the large percentage of problems was a surprise.” As for me — I’m not surprised.

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Published on: July 8, 2016

Prominent Research Group Calls Invokana A Dangerous Gamble

By Jeff Blackwell

Our office has closely followed developments with the diabetes drug Invokana. Invokana is in a class of drugs known as sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. This is a relatively new class of drugs also including Farxiga, Jardiance, Glyxambi, and Xigduo XR. These drugs treat diabetes by altering kidney function to stop reabsorption of glucose into the patient’s blood stream. We have a page on our firm website discussing these drugs, how they work and their link to diabetic ketoacidosis. Despite being a new drug at the time we published our initial page, Invokana had already been linked to numerous adverse health reports. Since then, even more potential injury risks have emerged. You can read about these developments in several posts on this blog.

In its recent QuarterWatch report, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) calls Invokana a “dangerous gamble.” The ISMP report opens with the following paragraph:

The nation’s gamble in embracing new drugs for long-term use with only short-term clinical testing was most apparent in the rapid acceptance into clinical practice of a new class of oral diabetes drugs called sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. There are now three such agents, canagliflozin (INVOKANA), dapagliflozin (FARXIGA), and empagliflozin (JARDIANCE). Since approval, evidence of multiple safety problems has emerged.

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