According to court documents, on February 5th, 2013 an Illinois man filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court alleging that Mercks drug Propecia can lead to serious side effects such as sexual dysfunction. In light of this news, AttorneyOne, a recognized authority on law, informs that they are now providing advice, including how to get in contact with legal counsel, to people potentially affected by Propecia side effects. San Diego, CA (PRWEB) February 21, 2013 According to court documents, on February 5th, 2013 an Illinois man filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court (case no. 2:2013cv00659) alleging that Propecia can lead to serious side effects such as sexual dysfunction. Propecia is a pill, manufactured by Merck, for use in males only and indicated for the treatment of male pattern hair loss. It was approved by the FDA in 1997. In the lawsuit plaintiff claims that Merck knew or should have known that Propecia contributes to an increased risk of side effects including depression, cognitive impairment and erectile dysfunction. As Merck & Co reported on November 9th, 2012 approximately 265 lawsuits, involving a total of approximately 415 plaintiffs, have been filed as of September 30th, 2012 alleging persistent sexual … Continue reading →

Vivus Inc. (VVUS)s obesity drug, approved in July in the U.S., failed for a second time to gain the backing of European regulators because of its potential side effects. The European Medicines Agencys Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended against approving Vivuss pill in October because of concern about the long-term effects on the heart and nervous system. Vivus appealed, and the Mountain View, California-based company said today in a statement that its request was rejected. The agency, called CHMP, said Vivus must conduct a cardiovascular trial to show the drug, which would be called Qsiva in Europe, is safe before it could be approved. We are disappointed with the CHMP decision regarding Qsiva and the position the committee adopted with respect to the need for a pre-approval cardiovascular outcomes trial, Peter Tam, president of Vivus, said in the statement. A majority of CHMP members have failed to recognize the importance of making this treatment option available, particularly for patients whose only effective intervention is surgery. The drug, called Qsymia in the U.S., was the second weight- loss drug to be cleared last year by the Food and Drug Administration. The therapy is a combination of the appetite … Continue reading →

MORE than 1.5 million Australians suffer the side effects of medicines every year, presenting a real danger to public health, physicians say. The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) wants healthcare professionals to report instances of patients having adverse reactions to drugs to minimise the risk of people taking the wrong medicines. In its federal budget submission, the RACP on Friday called on the Labor government to make the proposed reporting measure mandatory for doctors and healthcare workers. Currently, health carers aren't required to notify the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) about adverse drug reactions. At present only nine per cent of reported cases are provided by this group of professionals. Without reporting, there was a danger that safety issues involving certain medications will go undetected, RACP warns. "Adverse drug events are a significant cost to the Australian community in terms of related visits to general practitioners, hospitals, and in severe cases, death," said Winston Liauw from the RACP's ethics advisory group. At least 400,000 GP visits and 190,000 hospital admissions are linked to the side effects of medicines. The public costs associated with medicine-related hospital visits in 2008 was $660 million, and around half of those visits were preventable, the … Continue reading →