› $4.85 Billion settlement in drug case
Certain lots of the blood thinner heparin are being recalled because testing revealed that the drug is contaminated with trace amounts of oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS). The recall includes seven lots of Heparin Sodium USP Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) sold to B. Braun Medical Inc. that were manufactured in 2008 and expire on October 31, 2010 and November 30, 2010.
As many as 300 product-liability lawsuits may be filed in the Illinois state court against drug maker Baxter International Inc., by people injured by or families who lost loved ones to contaminated batches of the blood thinner heparin. Per a judge’s order last year, attorneys are working to convert an aggregate lawsuit to individual claims against the Deerfield, Illinois-based drug company.
A group of blood thinners used to reduce the risk of deep vein blood clots in patients has updated their products’ safety labeling and revised the boxed warning to include a risk of epidural or spinal hemotomas in some patients, according to an announcement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA places boxed warnings, also known as black box warnings, on drugs that, based on medical studies, carry a significant risk of serious adverse side effects or death.
