Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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President-elect Barack Obama has made no formal announcement as yet, but it appears likely that Sen. Tom Daschle will be appointed Obama’s choice for Health and Human Services secretary, according to The Federal Times.

If so, Dashle will inherit a department that oversees the FDA, an agency that is rife with issues. The agency has been the subject of criticism over its handling of the tainted heparin scandal earlier this year in which more than 80 Americans were killed and hundreds more sickened after receiving injections of heparin from China.

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Clinical tests conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association comparing brand and generic cardiovascular drugs show that generic drugs are bio-equivalent to the drugs they are patterned after. And, the FDA adds, generics are far less expensive than brand-name drugs. However, U.S. News & World Report raises questions about the quality of the generic drugs.

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A Washington lawmaker is raising concerns about the FDA’s handling of the tainted heparin scandal earlier this year, claiming that the agency misrepresented deaths tied to the product and didn’t thoroughly investigate the situation, according to CNN Money.

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