Pharmaceutical industry

BALTIMORE, MD (June 13, 2007) - Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today the settlement of a lawsuit against Warner Chilcott Holdings Company III., Ltd., makers of the popular oral contraceptive product Ovcon. The lawsuit, joined by 33 other states and the District of Columbia, charged Warner Chilcott and a chief competitor, Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc., with unlawfully agreeing to deny consumers the opportunity to purchase a less expensive, generic version of the drug.    » read more »

June 12, 2007 -- Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo today announced the settlement of a civil lawsuit against the makers of the popular oral contraceptive product Ovcon. The lawsuit, jointly filed by thirty-three other states and the District of Columbia, charged Warner Chilcott and Barr Pharmaceuticals with antitrust violations that have prevented generic versions of Ovcon from reaching the marketplace, thereby decreasing competition and inflating consumers’ costs. As part of the settlement, Warner Chilcott will pay a total of $5.5 million to Kentucky and the other litigating states.    » read more »

June 13, 2007 -- (Boise) - The State of Idaho will receive $74,804 as its portion of a $5.5 million settlement with the makers of Ovcon, Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced today. The lawsuit, joined by 33 other states and the District of Columbia, alleged that Warner Chilcott and Barr Pharmaceuticals committed antitrust violations that prevented generic versions of the oral contraceptive Ovcon, from being available to consumers.

"When generic drugs come on the market, it almost always results in competition and lower prices," Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said.    » read more »

AG Obtains Restraining Order Against Drug Compounding Pharmacy; Company’s Defective Drug May Have Led To The Deaths Of 3 Pacific NW Residents

June 7, 2007 -- Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers today obtained a restraining order from the Marion County Circuit Courts against ApotheCure, Inc., a drug compounding, pharmacy company based in Dallas, Texas; the company’s defective batch of the drug Colchicine allegedly killed two Portland residents who were treated at the Center for Integrative Medicine in Portland and a Yakima, Washington woman who was treated at her local clinic.    » read more »

June 5, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C—Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to a series of reports published in the New England Journal of Medicine on the concerns surrounding Avandia.

"Today's reports are a call to action for Congress to strengthen the ability of the FDA to oversee the safety of the medicines that American families rely on.    » read more »

04 June 2007 -- Nigeria has filed a lawsuit demanding $7 billion in compensation from the Pfizer drug company over allegations that testing of a meningitis drug ten years ago led to the deaths of some children.

Monday's lawsuit is in addition to a separate $2 billion action filed recently by the government of the northern Nigerian state of Kano.

Both suits accuse Pfizer of failing to get permission to conduct tests of its meningitis drug on 200 children suffering from the disease.

Half the children got the new medication, the others got a drug that was already on the market.    » read more »

June 4, 2007 - Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell today announced that Rite Aid Corporation will sell four retail drug stores in Vermont to resolve concerns about its acquisition of the U.S. assets of Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc. The stores to be divested are in Bellows Falls/Walpole, Lyndonville, Newport/Derby, and St. Johnsbury. Divestiture, or the forced sale of some stores in certain geographic areas to a competitor, is a remedy used in antitrust cases to ensure the competition continues to be strong in those areas after a merger.    » read more »

June 4, 2007 -- HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced an agreement requiring Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid Corporation to divest stores in five Pennsylvania markets, where it is acquiring stores from Jean Coutu Group, Inc, the owner of Eckerd Drug Stores. Under the agreement, the five stores will be sold to other retail drug chains in sections of Lackawanna, Fayette, Mercer, Butler, and Luzerne counties, eliminating concerns about potential monopolies.    » read more »

Rite Aid Must Sell 26 Stores As Part Of Merger

NEW YORK, NY (June 4, 2007) – New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a settlement requiring Rite Aid Corp, Inc., the nation’s third largest retail drug store chain, to sell 26 stores to competitors, including eight stores in New York State.    » read more »

Will Retain Competition in Retail Drug Store Market

June 6, 2007 -- BALTIMORE, MD (June 4, 2007) - Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today announced that his Antitrust Division has reached a settlement with Rite Aid Corporation, requiring the divestiture of its Eckerd drug store in Denton. The settlement will allow for the continued competition in the retail drug store market in the area.    » read more »

June 03, 2007 -- CHICAGO -- North Central Cancer Treatment Group researchers based at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have discovered that low doses of a drug used to prevent epileptic seizures and to treat nerve pain caused by shingles substantially reduces hot flashes in patients who are undergoing anti-hormonal treatment, or androgen-deprivation therapy, for prostate cancer.    » read more »

‘Worst Pills, Best Pills’ Subscribers Receive Life-Saving Warnings About Dangerous Drugs Before They Are Removed From the Market

June 1, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Januvia (scientific name sitagliptin), a new drug designed to improve blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes, should not be used because the drug’s long-term safety is still unknown, Public Citizen writes in a new June posting on its WorstPills.org Web site.    » read more »

5.31.07 - Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today signed the following bills:

Senate Bill 58

State Senator Kevin Coughlin sponsored Senate Bill 58 that will allow pharmacists to administer certain immunizations. Coughlin's bill was the companion bill to state Representative John Adams' House Bill 73.

Senate Bill 20

State Senator Patricia Clancy sponsored Senate Bill 20 that will increase the adoption tax credit from $500 to $1500. Clancy's bill was the companion bill to state Representative Danny Bubp's House Bill 70.

Source: Ohio Governor

Study finds Avandia increases risk of heart attack, death

WASHINGTON (May 25, 2007) - A coalition of scientific, public health and consumer organizations today issued a letter urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to exclude scientists with financial ties to GlaxoSmithKline from a panel reviewing the safety of the pharmaceutical giant's popular type 2 diabetes drug, Avandia.    » read more »

May 22, 2007 -- Too often, it takes a crisis to move Congress to act on an urgent national need. We have already had crisis after crisis on drug safety, and yesterday we learned of another. A report published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that the diabetes drug Avandia may increase the risk of heart attacks and death. If further evidence were needed that improving drug safety is an urgent national priority, this latest report puts the issue beyond any doubt.    » read more »