Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
East German Athletes to Sue Drug Firm Over Olympic Doping
Apr 11 2006 // Former East German athletes who suffered health problems because of systematic doping plan to sue a pharmaceutical company for damages. Talks to settle the case out of court failed this week in Hamburg, their lawyer,...
Father Sues Mass. University Over Daughter’s Drug Death
Apr 11 2006 // The father of Clark University freshman who died of a heroin overdose two years ago has filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming lax supervision contributed to his daughter’s death. Michele C. Bash’s death could...
Merck Loses Bid to Nix Punitive Damages; Deliberations Today
Apr 10 2006 // A judge last Friday rejected Merck & Co.’s request to abort a hearing aimed at establishing whether the company must pay punitive damages to a former Vioxx user already awarded $4.5 million for a heart attack he...
Wis. Liability Law That Targets Drug Dealers Sparks Debate
Apr 10 2006 // A Wisconsin state law that makes drug dealers liable when their products kill can give families of the deceased a measure of redemption. But others critics are beginning to argue that the law holds one person responsible...
Vioxx Maker Faces Punitive Damage Hearing Today Following Split Ruling
Apr 6 2006 // A jury in Atlantic County Superior Court in Atlantic City, N.J. ordered pharmaceutical giant Merck to pay a 77-year old user of its Vioxx drug at least $4.5 million in compensation after finding that the drug helped cause...
Fearing Bird Flu Outbreak, Officials Hope Tamiflu Will Help
Mar 24 2006 // Dr. Richard Mandsager was in Juneau, Alaska, last week urging legislators to fund a stockpile of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu for Alaskans — just in case a flu pandemic hits. Questions remain whether Tamiflu will be...
PMSI-Tmesys Unveils Medication, Patient Care System
Mar 14 2006 // A new management system, which helps payors control medication costs and enhance patient care has been introduced by PMSI-Tmesys of Tampa, Fla., a provider of workers’ compensation pharmacy and management...
Merck Defends Vioxx as ‘One of Most-Studied’ Drugs at Latest Trial
Mar 8 2006 // An attorney for Merck & Co. insisted at the start of another Vioxx trial that the company adequately investigated the drug’s safety and asserted it was heart disease and other ailments, not Vioxx, that led to...
N.D. Survey Says Insurers Slow to Pay for Medicare Prescriptions
Mar 3 2006 // North Dakota pharmacists say they have been forced to borrow money because insurers are slow to pay the bills under a new Medicare prescription drug program. Nearly one in five pharmacists was forced to borrow money and...
Pa. Shuts Down Pro-Tel Prescription Drug Plan Sale to Seniors
Feb 28 2006 // Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett announced that a Pennsylvania business will refund consumers, pay fines and get out of the health care business following claims that it used deceptive marketing tactics to lure...
Jury Clears Drug Maker Merck in First Federal Vioxx Case
Feb 21 2006 // In its first victory in federal court over the once popular painkiller Vioxx, a jury in New Orleans ruled that Merck & Co. was not responsible for the death of a 53-year-old Florida man who had a heart attack after...
ARIZ. COULD DENY BENEFITS TO THOSE WHO TEST POSITIVE FOR DRUGS, ALCOHOL
Feb 20 2006 // Arizona lawmakers have preliminarily approved a bill and constitutional amendment that would deny workers’ compensation benefits to employees injured or killed on the job who test positive for alcohol or illegal...
Ariz. Wants to Deny Workers’ Comp Benefits to Those Who Test Positive for Drugs, Alcohol
Feb 10 2006 // Arizona lawmakers have preliminary approved a bill and constitutional amendment that would deny workers’ compensation benefits to employees injured or killed on the job who test positive for alcohol or illegal...
Okla. Warns of Scam Artists Targeting Seniors Enrolling in Medicare Part D
Jan 25 2006 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland and Attorney General Drew Edmondson are concerned that Oklahoma seniors will fall victim to scam artists taking advantage of the confusion created by Medicare Part D enrollment...
Minn. Gov. Issues Executive Order to Correct Medicare Glitches
Jan 22 2006 // Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signed an emergency executive order this month authorizing the Minnesota Department of Human Services to help cover some costs for low-income residents struggling to get prescription drugs...
News Briefs
Jan 22 2006 // Health insurance plan: new option for low-income Kansas residents Low-income Kansas residents, who have not had health insurance for more than a year, may qualify for a new program that promises half-price premiums, Blue...
Minn. Gov. Issues Executive Order to Correct Medicare Glitches
Jan 16 2006 // Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signed an emergency executive order this weekend authorizing the Minnesota Department of Human Services to help cover some costs for low-income residents struggling to get prescription drugs...
States Claim FDA Drug Labels Would Undermine State Product Liability Laws
Jan 15 2006 // The National Conference of State Legislatures has accused the federal Food and Drug Administration of attempting to preempt state prescription drug product liability laws despite Congress and the courts’ refusal to...
Health Insurance Plan: New Option for Low-income Kansas Residents
Jan 13 2006 // Low-income Kansas residents, who have not had health insurance for more than a year, may qualify for a new program that promises half-price premiums, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas announced this week. Named...
Minnesota Officials Address Medicare Prescription Problems
Jan 9 2006 // A St. Paul, Minnesota Medicare official said today that a system glitch that has left hundreds of Minnesotans unable to get prescription drugs should be able to be identified and quickly fixed. Low-income people on both...
