Archive for the 'Astrazeneca' Category

(NaturalNews) – Drug giant AstraZeneca attempted to obscure the connection between one of its blockbuster drugs and diabetes risk for years after it knew of the problem, according to documents recently unsealed as part of lawsuits against the company.

More than 15,000 patients have sought damages from the company, alleging that they were harmed by side effects from its atypical antipsychotic Seroquel. According to the plaintiffs, AstraZeneca deliberately hid information linking the drug to an increased risk of weight gain and diabetes. The lawsuits have been consolidated into a single case for the purpose of pre-trial proceedings.

The recently unsealed documents include notes from a meeting between salesperson Nancy White and a doctor in July 2006, during which the doctor said that his patients were expressing concern about Seroquel’s links to diabetes. White reported telling the doctor that “there has been no causative effect” proven between the drug and the disease. Read the rest of this entry »

(NaturalNews) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued new restrictions for four popular long-acting asthma drugs. Novartis AG’s Foradil, GlaxoSmithKline’s Serevent and Advair, and AstraZeneca’s Symbicort, all contain an ingredient that relaxes airway muscles in the lungs which can cause asthma-related death. If not accompanied by other asthma drugs to offset this life-threatening side effect, the consequences could be fatal. Read the rest of this entry »

(NaturalNews) – A federal lawsuit has been filed against pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca for its role in paying Chicago psychiatrist Dr. Michael Reinstein nearly $500,000 over the course of a decade to conduct research and to promote its anti-psychotic drug, Seroquel. Reinstein is being accused of wrongfully preying on thousands of mentally-ill patients in order to rake in profits for AstraZeneca. Read the rest of this entry »

(Reuters) – Healthcare companies are reaping the benefits of a global swine flu pandemic, brightening what might otherwise have been a dismal third quarter and bringing new focus on the market for vaccines. Read the rest of this entry »

(Bloomberg) – The first vaccines for swine flu have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a top health official said. Read the rest of this entry »

(Natural News) – This is part four of an article series by Evelyn Pringle. Find previous parts here: Part One (http://www.naturalnews.com/026634_d…), Part Two (http://www.naturalnews.com/026707_h…) and Part Three (http://www.naturalnews.com/026742_d…). What follows is the full text of part four: Read the rest of this entry »

Try to access the Web site of the Archives of General Psychiatry, and you may have to abide an ad for the antidepressant Pristiq before you can enter. (JAMA and its Archives Journals “do not endorse the advertised product,�? you’ll be assured.) Read the rest of this entry »

(Reuters) – The U.S. government has bought 195 million doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine for a possible autumn vaccination campaign, a U.S. federal official said Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »

(Reuters) – The United States will spend another $1 billion on ingredients for an H1N1 vaccine, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »

(Reuters) – Three antipsychotic drugs appear to work in children and teens but their risks must be weighed as the makers aim to promote the medicines for youth, U.S. drug reviewers said in documents released on Friday. Read the rest of this entry »

(Reuters) – AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L) MedImmune biotechnology unit has won an initial $90 million order from the U.S. government to make a live attentuated vaccine against the new H1N1 flu strain, it said on Monday. Read the rest of this entry »