Articles by Matthew Perrone

Claim Against Coca-Cola Over Vitaminwater to Proceed; No Damages Allowed

A judge last Thursday recommended that a case challenging the claims on popular Vitaminwater drinks as misleading move forward as a class-action lawsuit. Attorneys representing the health-advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest and consumers from California and …

FDA Warns on Georgia Compounding Pharmacy Recall

The Food and Drug Administration is warning doctors that a Georgia-based compounding pharmacy is recalling dozens of lots of the Roche drug Avastin after receiving reports of eye infections among patients. The FDA said last week that Clinical Specialties of …

Uncertainty Marks Federal Regulation of Compounding Pharmacies

The deadly meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated pain injections has prompted calls for tighter federal regulation of compounding pharmacies, which have periodically been blamed for crippling and sometimes fatal injuries. But this isn’t the first time Congress has pushed for …

U.S., Europe Urged to Offer Product Safety Training to Importers

Food and drug regulators in the U.S., Europe and other developed countries should offer training, technology and expertise to developing nations in Asia, Latin America and other regions to better assure the safety of imported products, states a new report. …

Experts Say Antitrust Repeal Unlikely to Spur Health Insurance Competition

Democratic lawmakers are seeking to stir up competition by stripping health insurers of their protection from certain federal antitrust laws, although experts shrug off the effort as largely symbolic. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last Thursday she plans to include a …

Minnesota Judge Won’t Remove Himself from Medtronic Case

A judge who dismissed thousands of lawsuits against Minneapolis-based Medtronic said this week he will not remove himself from the case, despite criticism for not revealing that his son works for a law firm tied to the company. Lawyers for …

Medical Device Makers Could Face Increased State Liability Claims

Following the recent Supreme Court decision that federal rules do not protect drugmakers from state lawsuits, Democrats in Congress have moved to overturn a decision that has shielded medical device companies from similar legal action. Last Wednesday the court turned …

U.S. Report Questions Safety of Chemical Used in Plastic Bottles

A chemical used to make baby bottles and other shatterproof plastic containers could be linked to a range of hormonal problems, a preliminary government report has found. The report was greeted by some environmental groups as confirmation of their concerns, …

Employers, Lawmakers Push Doctors to Adopt Electronic Prescriptions

Motivated by mounting medical costs, lawmakers and executives are urging doctors to embrace a seemingly simple way to save billions of dollars a year: prescribe medications online. Officials in the public and private sectors say electronic prescriptions will make transactions …