Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

14 Jul 2010 10:37

tags

Biz: Glaxo’s diabetes drug Avandia proving to be a huge headache

  • 1.5% the share of Glaxo’s revenues the diabetes drug accounted for in 2009
  • 39% the average percentage that Avandia increased the risk of heart attacks in numerous studies
  • $460M the amount Glaxo agreed to pay to settle thousands of annoying lawsuits source
  • » And it could get worse: Today, a group of Food and Drug Administration advisers will suggest whether or not the drug should go off the market. If it’s banned, expect the massive drug company to be on the hook for even more lawsuits.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jun 2010 22:20

tags

Politics: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer thinks illegal immigrants are drug mules

  • Well, we all know that the majority of the people that are coming to Arizona and trespassing are now becoming drug mules.
  • Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer • Saying the kind of thing that’s a weeeeeeeeeee bit controversial, but considering her record as governor, that wouldn’t be anything new. Brewer went even further, saying this: “So they are criminals. They’re breaking the law when they are trespassing and they’re criminals when they pack the marijuana and the drugs on their backs.” We offer the same advice to her that we have to Rand Paul in the past: Keep quiet or people might think you’re crazy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 May 2010 20:52

tags

World: In Jamaica, the hunt for Christopher “Dudus” Coke proves deadly

  • 31 killed during the hunt for one fugitive drug lord source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 May 2010 15:00

tags

Biz: So yeah, the plant where Children’s Tylenol was made is a disaster

  • This inspection report is pretty close to being the worst I’ve seen. It suggests that basically the FDA found an issue with almost every system at the plant.
  • Temple University professor (and former Johnson & Johnson employee) David Lebo • Regarding the conditions of a Pennsylvania Tylenol plant that was shut down recently by the Food and Drug Administration. The shutdown followed a mass recall of many children’s drug products by the manufacturer. Nearly three dozen complaints were filed regarding the drugs, which including foreign materials. The FDA’s report suggests that there was lacking quality control that made some of the drugs superpotent (as scary as it sounds). We’re guessing that this PR crisis won’t be fixed as easily as that other one. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Apr 2010 22:16

tags

Culture: Protip: If you’re an Olympic runner, skip the male-enlargement drugs

  • Dear LaShawn Merritt: You’re an idiot. The pride of Portsmouth, the king of the 2008 Olympic track and field events, Merritt let all of this go because he used this sketchy penis-enhancement drug called ExtenZe. ExtenZe, by the way, is not the same as Enzyte, but does contain some substances banned the the International Olympic Committee. So now Merritt is banned for two years. What the heck, dude? You ruined your life over magic beans? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2010 23:07

tags

U.S.: Obese people study: They’re like drug addicts, except with food

  • Obesity may be a form of compulsive eating. Other treatments in development for other forms of compulsion, for example drug addiction, may be very useful for the treatment of obesity.
  • The Scripps Research Institute researcher Paul Kenny • Describing a study they did which showed that overweight rats reacted to food the way that drug addicts react to drugs. They found that as the rats gained weight, a dopamine receptor that signified reward went down. So, you know what this means, obese people. Start doing drugs. Replace one addiction with another. (Actually, don’t do that. That’s terrible advice. But then again, we’re not advice columnists.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 22:26

tags

U.S.: California: The state that brought you Prop 8 could legalize pot

Thanks to a hard-fought ballot initiative, stoners who couldn’t marry their same-sex partners could soon legally purchase pot straight-up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 Mar 2010 17:12

tags

Tech: What if you could take a pill to stop damage from smoking?

  • good New research suggests a protein, GM-CSF, controls lung damage from smoking and can be turned off with the use of a pill.
  • bad The effects (for now) have only been tested short-term. Also, there’s still no cure for cancer, so it’s not a perfect solution. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Mar 2010 09:24

tags

Culture: Corey Haim’s history with drugs long and intensive

  • 15 trips to rehab for the former
    child star, who reportedly cleaned
    up in 2004
  • one drug-induced stroke in 2001; TMZ says he died in the same apartment complex as Rick James source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Feb 2010 10:07

tags

Biz: U.S. to Glaxo: Uh, you should pull Avandia from the market

  • The drug has long been linked to heart attacks. The Senate Finance Committee released a report over the weekend containing internal FDA documents recommending it should be pulled from the market. Glaxo, though, is trying its hardest to avoid the pulling of the diabetes drug, and is in the midst of a blind test with another drug, Actos, to show how safe it is. That’s despite the use of a fear-of-God “black box” warning on the drug, and despite a study noting a 43 percent increase in heart trouble for Avendia users. The report suggests Glaxo knew the issues but kept the drug on the market anyway. Yikes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>