News for the ‘product liability’ Category

FDA warns food companies to change ‘misleading’ labels

Dreyers 100x100Several food products on store shelves have misleading labels that violate federal law, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning companies to change those labels within 15 days or the agency will pull those products from grocery store shelves. The FDA sent warning letters to 17 different food makers last week demanding swift compliance.

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Recall due to risk of injury, exposure to infectious micro-organisms

centrifuge 100x100The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Class 1 on a machine used in research laboratories because it may break, causing the potential for serious physical to bystanders and may expose them to blood-borne infectious micro-organisms. A Class 1 is the most serious type of the FDA can issue and involves situations in which there is a reasonable probability that use of these products will cause serious adverse health consequences or .

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Combined HIV treatment may cause serious side effects of the heart

Heart 100x100The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning health care professionals and patients about a potentially serious side effect on the heart from use of two antiviral medications when given together to treat HIV infection. The warning is based on preliminary data from a clinical trial that suggests that Invirase (saquinavir) in combination with Norvir (ritonavir) may cause prolongation of the QT and PR intervals on an electrocardiogram. This prolongation may lead to abnormal heart rhythms such as torsades de pointes and heart block. These conditions may cause lightheadedness, fainting, or abnormal heart beats. In some cases, torsades de pointes may progress to a life-threatening irregular heat beat known as ventricular fibrillation.

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FDA places black box warning on Exjade

Exjade 100x100Exjade (deferasirox), a treatment for chronic iron overload due to blood transfusions for adults and children age 2 years and older, now has an Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warning alerting health care professionals and consumers of a risk of serious complications that may lead to . A black box warning is the strongest form of warning issued by the FDA and is placed on drugs that have potentially harmful or deadly side effects. As a result of the FDA warning, new language was added to the drug’s Contraindications, Warnings and Precautions, and Drug Interactions sections of its packaging. The labeling states that the product may cause renal impairment, including failure; hepatic impairment, including failure; and gastrointestinal hemorrhage. The warning affects Exjade Tablets for Oral Suspension.

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FDA issues warning on class of asthma drugs

A class of asthma drugs known as Long-Acting Beta Agonists (LABAs) should never be used alone, warns the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and manufacturers of these drugs will now be required to include this warning in the labels of their drugs as well as steps on how to reduce overall use of the products. The warning is based on FDA analysis of clinical trials of LABAs that show the drugs are associated with an increased risk of severe worsening of asthma symptoms, leading to hospitalization in both children and adults, and in some patients with asthma.

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FDA warns consumers against using ear candles

ear candle 100x100Burning ear candles that manufacturers claim draw ear wax and “impurities” or “toxins” out of the ear canal should not be used because they may cause serious even if used according to manufacturers’ instructions, according to a warning from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ear candles are hollow cones about 10 inches long and made from a fabric tube soaked in beeswax, paraffin or a mixture of the two. In ear candling, also called ear coning or thermal auricular therapy, a patient lies on his side while a candle is placed in the outer ear and lit.

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FDA cracks down on misleading drug promotions

fda logo 100x100Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the newly appointed chief of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is flexing her muscles with drug makers over questionable product promotion, in an effort to live up to her promise to step up enforcement of oversight of drug makers, device manufacturers and other companies the agency oversees. Last year, the FDA issued 41 enforcement letters, twice as many as it issued in 2008.

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MS, Crohn’s drug linked to numerous cases of serious brain infection

PML 100x100The Food and Drug Administration is updating health care professionals about a medication used to treat patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease. New safety information indicates that the risk of developing a rare but life-threatening brain infection known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) increases with the number of infusions received of Tysabri (natalizumab). The announcement updates a September 2009 warning about PML associated with use of the Tysabri.

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Apple co-founder Wozniak and others find trouble with Prius

toyota logoMany Toyota Prius owners continue to experience sporadic episodes of sudden, unintended acceleration while driving their cars, even without floor mats jamming the throttle wide open or the gas pedal sticking. Toyota included all 2004-2009 Prius models in the floor mat entrapment it announced last fall, but did not include the Prius in its subsequent of Toyotas for sticking accelerator pedals.

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Transportation secretary says people should stop driving recalled Toyotas

ray lahoodToyota’s recent of 2.3 million cars and sport utility vehicles over “sticking” accelerator pedals follows a larger last October of 4.2 million vehicles for possible floor mat entrapment. The recalls have created an undercurrent of fear of confusion among Toyota owners, many of whom no longer feel their cars are safe to drive.

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