National law firm, Parker Waichman LLP, is continuing to file DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuits. The most recent case involves a 62-year-old Virginia resident who sustained serious injuries alleged to be the result of a defective metal-on-metal ASR Hip Implant. The device was manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics, a unit of Johnson & Johnson.

The lawsuit was filed on April 12, 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, in the DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2197. (Case No. 1:10 mdl 2197). (more…)

A group of Australians have filed a massive metal-on-metal hip implant lawsuit against medical device giant, Johnson & Johnson, parent company of DePuy Orthopaedics.

The group of more than 1,000 has joined a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit over DePuy Orthopaedics’ all-metal devices, said Courier Mail. The devices have been linked to early failure rates and a host of adverse health reactions. The class action has been filed in the Federal Court in Sydney and is just one of many legal actions, worldwide, against DePuy Orthopaedics and Johnson & Johnson. (more…)

New safety information has been added to Gilenya, manufactured by Novartis AG. Gilenya (gingolimod) is approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) and is meant to reduce the frequency of flare-ups and delay physical disability.

Now, regulators in the United States and in Europe are placing new safety precautions on the drug, said Bloomberg Businessweek. The label change followed 15 deaths, which prompted a three-month review of Gilenya. (more…)

Novartis just announced label changes to its blockbuster hypertension medication, Tekturna (aliskiren), in the United States, following a U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) review. The company also said it will pull another aliksiren product, Valturna, from the market by July 20, 2012.

The agency review involved preliminary findings from the ALTITUDE study, which was meant to review aliskiren’s effect, including the brand Tekturna, on the possibility of adverse reactions to the cardiovascular system and kidneys in high-risk diabetes patients, explained NewsInferno. More than 8,600 type-2 diabetes patients were enrolled in ALTITUDE and treated with either aliskiren or a placebo, along with their regularly prescribed blood pressure medication—either an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB). (more…)

Another lawsuit has been filed over a da Vinci surgical robot injury, the result of an alleged botched surgery.

A couple, from Alabama, is suing device maker, Intuitive Surgical, for close to $500 million for a hysterectomy that went wrong, said Mass Device. The lawsuit was filed by Gwendolyn Jones and Amos Jones Jr. in the U.S. District Court for Northern Alabama. (more…)

Medtronic’s controversial Infuse bone growth product may cause a significant cancer risks, even more so than originally believed, according to respected research.

Patients treated with Infuse suffered a more than two-fold risk of developing cancer within the first year of use, according to Stanford University School of Medicine professor and Spine Journal editor of Dr. Eugene Carragee, said MassDevice. Worse, the cancer risk increased to nearly five-fold after three years, said to Dr. Carragee. (more…)

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) just ordered new warnings for Propecia and Proscar sexual side effects. The drugs, known generically as finasteride, treat enlarged prostate and male pattern baldness and have been linked with sexual side effects that some men say is permanent.

Merck’s Propecia and Proscar, along with GlaxoSmithKline’s Avodart and Jalyn are part of the drug class 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs) and were taken, says the FDA, by nearly five million men during 2002-2009. (more…)

Another hip replacement patient is suing DePuy Orthopaedics, this time, an Irish man plans to file a lawsuit over a failed metal-on-metal version of the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant. DePuy Orthopaedics is a unit of drug and device giant, Johnson & Johnson.

Austin Willis, 51, is the first person in Northern Ireland to sue a major medical device firm over a potentially defective implant, said The Belfast Telegraph. Willis had to endure a second hip replacement surgery two years after his original implant failed. In February 2009 Willis received his all-metal hip. “I was in agony for four months after the surgery,” he told The Belfast Telegraph. Less than one year after surgery, Willis was diagnosed with an infection and the implant had to be replaced. Last February, Willis underwent revision surgery and was implanted with a ceramic-on-ceramic hip. “I feel for anybody who’s older and had to go through a hip operation twice because of that,” Willis added, said The Belfast Telegraph. (more…)

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) says that Yaz and Yasmin may raise blood clot risks. The controversial, newer generation birth control pills are made by Bayer.

According to the health regulator, said The Associated Press (AP), the labeling is being added to Yaz, Yasmin, and other newer oral contraceptives, such as Beyaz, Safyral, Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol, Gianvi, Loryna, Ocella, Syeda, and Zarah. The revised labeling will stress that the drugs may be likelier to lead to blood clots versus older contraceptive pills. Yaz, Yasmin, and other drospirenone-containing birth control pills have enjoyed popularity over claims they clear up acne and other hormone-related symptoms, note the AP. (more…)

A lawsuit has been filed alleging that design flaws in the da Vinci surgical robot led to at least one death. The da Vinci surgical robot is marketed by Intuitive Surgical Inc. and has been on the market since 2000.

Gilmore McCall, the father of a woman, 24, who died two weeks after undergoing hysterectomy surgery with the da Vinci surgical robot is now suing Intuitive Surgical. Allegations include that the system has design flaws and caused his daughters death and that Intuitive Surgical Inc. failed to properly train physicians and that it “suppressed reports of complications, and has oversold the merits of its da Vinci robot to hospitals considering buying it,” said Mass Device, citing court documents. The lawsuit was filed in a federal New York court on April 4, 2012. (more…)