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› $4.85 Billion settlement in drug case
Blood thinners, like heparin, are routinely administered or prescribed to patients to help prevent blot clots that can lead to heart attacks or strokes. But if a patient taking blood thinners bumps his head, he is at greater risk for undetected brain bleeds and death, according to Emax Health.
More than 50 million older Americans – or 91 percent of that population – take at least one medication, and at least 2 million of them are combining their medication with other drugs or supplements that may be hazardous to their health, according to the Associated Press.
New blood-thinning medicines are in the works and to offer doctors more options in treatment and prevention of blood clots, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg reports that at least six companies are working on blood thinners to take advantage of a growing need. According to Datamonitor, a London-based research company, the anticoagulation drug market is expected to reach $20 million by 2012.
An infant may have been among the victims of the tainted heparin scandal earlier this year, according to WorldFocus consultant Peter Eisner, who has reported on the heparin crisis over several months. Eisner reports that Julien, the son of Alex and Ann Oryschak, died Nov. 19, 2007, after becoming ill. The Oryschaks believe that heparin may have lead to their infant son’s untimely death, and they want to share their story in hopes of influencing changes in drug regulations.
The highly publicized lawsuit between the family of actor Dennis Quaid and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has been settled, according to The Lowell Sun/Associated Press. Documents show that the Quaids have agreed on a $750,000 settlement with the hospital. The Quaid twins nearly died after they were accidentally given 1,000 times the intended dose of the blood thinner heparin shortly after birth. The settlement allows the couple to pursue claims for their children in the future.
Another lawsuit has been filed against the Wisconsin-based heparin manufacturer, Scientific Protein Laboratories and one of its major distributors, Baxter International Inc., claiming the companies allowed contaminated batches of heparin to reach hospitals and medical facilities, where it led to the death of a 59-year-old hemodialysis patient, according to The News-Enterprise.
Rep. Joe Barton, a ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, appears to be fed up with the FDA’s reluctance to provide details of the tainted heparin scandal that first came into public light earlier this year, according to CNN Money. That scandal resulted in the deaths of more than 80 Americans and adverse reactions in hundreds more, and led to an agency recall of lots of the blood thinner manufactured in Baxter International’s Chinese facility.
The Associated Press reported today that Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach will resign from his post effective Jan. 20, the same day president-elect Barack Obama takes office.
Von Eschenbach was appointed by President Bush in 2005 after the agency’s previous commissioner resigned due to ethical issues, the AP reports. While under von Eschenbach’s helm, the FDA has undergone scrutiny by Congress and consumer groups over issues such as the tainted heparin scandal earlier this year.
Cancer Consultants, an oncology resource center, is reporting that prophylactic use of nadroparin, a low-molecular-weight heparin, significantly reduces the incidence of thromboembolic events in patients who have cancer and are undergoing chemotherapy. This finding was presented this week by Italian researchers with the PROTECHT Study, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hemotology.
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