Protopic Cancer Risk LawyerWritten by Anna Henningsgaard
The FDA issued a warning in July of 2005 on two skin creams, Elidel (pimecrolimus) and Protopic (tacrolimus) to all ages. Recent animal studies have found that Protopic causes lymphomas and skin cancers in an unknown percentage of users. The FDA recommends that healthcare providers be very careful prescribing and applying these medications.Protopic belongs to class of medications called immunosuppressants. This kind of medication is used on short-term basis to treat atopic dermatitis, or eczema. The cream works on certain areas of immune system that may be involved in developing this serious skin condition. It is used only if other, safer treatments have not worked or cannot be used for some reason. It is sometimes prescribed for off-label uses, but you should discuss this with your doctor and make sure you know why you are using Protopic. The risk this drug poses to developing children is as of yet unknown. While a lower dosage Protopic cream is available for younger children, FDA recommends that children and pregnant women refrain from using medication. If you are a patient using Protopic cream and you have developed skin abnormalities, lymphomas, or skin caner, talk to a lawyer right away. Since FDA has recognized Protopic as a dangerous drug, you could be entitled to damages from drug company. GA
| | Neurontin Lawsuit: Neurontin Off-Label Abuse LawyerWritten by Anna Henningsgaard
Pfizer is currently marketing Neurontin as an oral medication for managing postherptic neuralgia, pain that lingers after shingles has healed. This is an FDA-approved use, and studies have shown that Neurontin works to reduce patients’ pain. It is a good drug, with many useful applications and few negative side effects, but it has a surprisingly long and sordid past.Neurontin was originally approved in 1993 for treatment of partial seizures in adults and children, especially epileptic seizures. However, this limited market for a drug with so few side effects was not enough for company, Warner-Lambert. The company set up a massive campaign to improve sales of Neurontin, and it worked. By 2002 Neurontin was a $2 billion dollar drug, outselling even Viagra. How did a little epilepsy drug come to claim such a huge number of patients? It did so illicitly. There are not enough patients suffering from epilepsy that one drug could earn profits of $2 billion a year. In order to claim these kinds of profits, Warner-Lambert began promoting drug for off-label uses. The company sent representatives directly to doctors, urging them to prescribe Neurontin for to treat not only epilepsy but also bipolar disorder, alcohol withdrawal, cocaine abuse, HIV/AIDS neuropathy, phantom limb pain, anxiety, and a host of other diverse and unrelated conditions. Though it has since been shown to work for some of these conditions, it was not clear at time exactly what Neurontin did. The Warner-Lambert salesmen were lying to doctors about what Neurontin could do, and doctors were listening. While it is illegal for a drug company to promote off-label uses directly and immoral to bribe doctors into prescribing a certain drug, it was also absolutely dangerous to claim Neurontin could cure disorders that it simply couldn’t. For example, Neurontin has no effect on bipolar disorder. Warner-Lambert sold thousands of doctors on idea that Neurontin should be prescribed for bipolar disorder. If it did not work, they suggested increasing dosage. One of drug company managers told a salesman: “I don’t want to see a single patient coming off Neurontin before they’ve been up to at least 4,800 milligrams a day. I don’t want to hear that safety crap either.... It’s a great drug.” An untold number of bipolar patients were taken off their FDA-approved medication and prescribed Neurontin alone. Although Neurontin has few side effects, it also did nothing for their disorder, leaving these patients effectively unmedicated. Nobody knows how many lives were shattered as a result, but unmedicated bipolar disorder has a mortality rate of 55-60%.
|
