Sarcoma specialists mourn the loss of palifosfamide, which might have improved the quality of life for their patients. Atlanta, Ga. (PRWEB) April 18, 2013 In a news release, Ziopharm reported that palifosfamide, in combination with doxorubicin, didn't show any significant difference from doxorubicin alone in a phase 3 clinical trial called PICASSO. In further statements, the company said FDA approval for sarcoma now appeared impossible. "It is such a shame that a great drug will not be approved," said Dr. D'Amato, a sarcoma medical oncologist at Georgia Cancer Specialists in Atlanta. Sarcoma patients have gotten the chemotherapy drug ifosfamide for years, often combined with doxorubicin (also known by its brand name Adriamycin). Palifosfamide was developed to be as effective as ifosfamide, but not as toxic, Dr. D'Amato said. In the randomized PICASSO trial, doctors didn't know if they were giving patients palifosfamide or a placebo, said Charles Forscher, MD, medical director of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's sarcoma program in Los Angeles. Sometimes side effects give clues as to which patients are getting which drugs. But palifosfamide caused so few side effects that doctors couldn't tell which patients got the drug and which got saline injections, said Scott Schuetze, MD, PhD, director … Continue reading →

dOliveira & Associates releases a new infographic providing FDA warnings regarding alleged male breast growth, prostate cancer, and long-term sexual side effects that are associated with the drugs containing Finasteride. (PRWEB) April 19, 2013 Proscar and Propecia, approved by the FDA in 1992 and 1997 respectively, were quickly put on sale by Merck to an eager market. Since the approval of these two drugs, the FDA has added new warnings to the Propecia and Proscar labels and in June of 2011, the FDA revised the information to include a possible increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer. The FDA based its decision on two medical studies, the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) and Reduction by Dutasteride of Prostate Cancer Events (REDUCE) (ii). Additional changes were made in April of 2012 to Propecia and Proscar when the FDA added warnings of lasting sexual side effects even after discontinuation of the drugs. After the FDA investigated 421 adverse event reports for Propecia and 199 reports for Proscar, the agency found 59 cases where sexual side effects had persisted for three months following discontinuation (iii). The Propecia and Proscar infographic lists possible side effects that have been associated with these drugs. Those side effects … Continue reading →

http://www.DrugRisks.com is the most useful source on the web for prescription medication alerts, side effects and legal news. Visit us today. Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) April 19, 2013 DrugRisks was created to improve patient safety by providing those taking popular prescription drugs with the latest warnings, recalls, studies and legal news. Visitors can see if others are experiencing similar side effects and decide if they need legal advice. Drug safety experts disagree over whether the blood thinner Pradaxa has higher risks of internal bleeding than traditional anticoagulants. The FDA has updated its information to state the drug is as safe as warfarin*. However, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices recently ranked blood thinners like Pradaxa among the most dangerous drugs available and warned that Pradaxa bleeding is nearly 5 times as likely to result in death than bleeding from warfarin**. DrugRisks has also added a study from the University of Illinois at Chicago which showed the data used by the FDA may be flawed, and the risk for Pradaxa bleeding may be higher than previously thought***. Due to the number of patients who have filed a Pradaxa lawsuit alleging the drug caused internal bleeding, cases have been consolidated to a special … Continue reading →

http://www.DrugRisks.com is the most helpful resource on the web for prescription medication alerts, side effects and legal news. Visit us today New York, NY (PRWEB) April 18, 2013 DrugRisks is designed to improve the safety of those taking popular prescription drugs like Actos by providing the latest warnings, recalls, studies and legal news. Visitors can determine if other patients are experiencing similar side effects and decide if they need legal advice. The FDA and European Medicines Agency* have warned that taking Actos for longer than one year may be associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. Regulators in France and Germany have even banned its use**. DrugRisks has learned as many as 3,000 patients in the U.S. have filed an Actos lawsuit against Takeda Pharmaceuticals over allegations their drug caused bladder cancer***. The first trial is underway for Jack Cooper, a grandfather who is now terminally ill from the disease***. Now, the resource center has added legal news showing lawyers are finishing their closing arguments and the jury could begin deliberations as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday this week. A decision is expected soon***. Lawyers continue to help those diagnosed with bladder cancer after taking Actos file claims. Anyone … Continue reading →

Apr. 19, 2013 Yellow vision, pseudo-pulmonary obstruction, involuntary body movements, respiratory paralysis. These are some of the 1,600 known side effects (SEs) produced by drugs. Adverse effects are one of the main causes of hospital admission in the west. These effects are difficult to predict, and in practice specific assays are required to test the safety of agents in pre-clinical phases, thus these effects are often not discovered until the drug has been launched. A study published by scientists at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) seeks to fill this information gap. The objective of the study is to shed light on the molecular bases of SEs and provide medical chemists with the tools to design safer drugs and to predict their effects. The study collects and proposes molecular hypotheses for 1,162 side effects. This information, which is about to be tested experimentally, is now available to the scientific community through the most recent issue of the specialized journal Chemistry and Biology, part of the Cell group. The researchers Miquel Duran and Patrick Aloy collated all the drugs that cause each known SE. Next, they studied the proteins with which they interact and their chemical structure. "For most … Continue reading →