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ScienceHealthErectile Dysfunction Drug and Anti-Depressant Accidentally Swapped in Factory
Pharmaceutical company AvKare issued a recall on Wednesday for two different medications after pills were inadvertently mixed during bottling, according to a new report from the FDA. The generic drugs being recalled are sildenafil, used to treat erectile dysfunction, and trazodone, an antidepressant and sedative. Needless to say, you really don’t want to get those … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsPrivacy and SecurityHackers Target Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution ‘Cold Chain,’ Though Motives Remain Unknown
Hackers “assumed to be state agents” have been waging a phishing campaign against pharmaceutical firms and other institutions involved in the forthcoming distribution of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, IBM announced on Thursday. In a post on Security Intelligence releasing their findings, IBM Security X-Force researchers wrote that “precision targeting of executives and key … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNewsTop Pharmaceutical Giants Pledge to Stick to Science on Coronavirus Vaccine
Ever since the covid-19 pandemic made its way to the United States, the question of whether Americans would accept a potential vaccine has lingered over everything. First, there was the concern that the antivaxxer movement might dissuade people from taking a legitimate vaccine. More recently, the worry has been that President Trump would rush out … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
ScienceHealthSome ‘Inactive’ Drug Ingredients May Be Anything But, Study Finds
Some inactive ingredients commonly found in medicines may not be so inactive after all, according to a new study published today. Researchers found evidence in the lab that several ingredients, including certain dyes and preservatives, are capable of affecting proteins, receptors, and other parts of our biology, possibly in important and noticeable ways. The findings … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealthMartin Shkreli Asks for Three Month Prison Furlough, Supposedly to Help Fight Coronavirus
Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical executive and possible goblin-kobold hybrid best known for acquiring the rights to and jacking up the price of HIV drug Daraprim before scoring seven years in a cell for securities fraud, is trying to get out of prison by claiming he might be of use in the fight against the novel … Continued
By Tom McKay -
ScienceHealthPharma Giant Gilead Retracts Request FDA Extend Monopoly Status on Experimental Covid-19 Drug
Pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences on Wednesday retracted its effort to score extended monopoly rights and tax breaks on its antiviral drug remdesivir, which scientists are evaluating as a possible treatment in the novel coronavirus pandemic. Per the Intercept, on Monday the Food and Drug Administration awarded Gilead “orphan” drug status for remdesivir, which would give … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNewsMartin Shkreli Faces New Lawsuit Over Scheme Inflating Cost of a Life-Saving Drug
Convicted securities fraudster Martin Shkreli is facing fresh allegations that he and his company purposely and illegally inflated the price of the drug Daraprim, a life-saving medication used to prevent malaria and treat deadly diseases caused by foodborne illness. New York Attorney General Letitia James and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a lawsuit against … Continued
By Dell Cameron -
Tech NewsNewsDrug Company Founder Gets 5 Years in Prison for Bribery Scheme to Boost Opioid Profits
John Kapoor, the founder of Arizona-based drug company Insys Therapeutics, was sentenced to just over five years in prison Thursday, far short of the 15 years that federal prosecutors had asked for after he was first found guilty in Boston last year. Kapoor’s company was found guilty of paying bribes to health care professionals in … Continued
By Matt Novak -
ScienceHealthBig Pharma Continues New Year’s Tradition of Squeezing U.S. Sick for Every Last Dime
Pharmaceutical giants celebrated the dawn of 2020 in the best way they know how: jacking up the prices of drugs for people in the U.S. that need them. According to a report by Reuters, research by analysts at 3 Axis Advisors shows that firms including Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Sanofi SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Gilead … Continued
By Tom McKay -
ScienceHealthFDA: Big Penis Comes With a Hidden Surprise
If you use a supplement called Big Penis, you should know that it contains an unexpected (or very expected?) ingredient. Big Penis capsules secretly contain sildenafil, also known by the brand name Viagra, according to the FDA. “The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers not to purchase or use Big Penis, a product promoted … Continued
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ScienceHealthDOJ Charges UK Firm With Conspiracy, Fraud Over Opioid Withdrawal Drug Suboxone Film
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday indicted British firm Indivior Plc, the manufacturer of the opioid craving and withdrawal drug Suboxone Film, with misleading doctors and government health programs into thinking the drug was safer and less addictive than it really is, Bloomberg reported. According to the U.S. Justice Department, the company even ran a “Here to … Continued
By Tom McKay -
ScienceHealthDoctor Who Championed Opioids for Years Flips on Pharma Ghouls to Save His Own Ass
A doctor who was an early advocate for the use of opioids for the treatment chronic pain now says pharmaceutical companies pushing opioids have created an epidemic—one that kills tens of thousands of Americans each year. Of course, he’s doing it to get out of being sued. About a decade ago, Dr. Russell Portenoy was … Continued
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Tech NewsNewsMartin Shkreli Is Reportedly in Solitary Confinement After Trying to Run a Company From Prison
So-called “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli earned the eternal ire of the public when he was the CEO of a company called Turing Pharmaceuticals, which he had buy up the rights to and jack up the price of life-saving drug Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 a pill. He then landed himself a seven-year prison sentence in … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsRobocall Hell, Divination Bot Returns, and a Fake MD: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week
The winds of time blow strangely here, in our unfortunate state of internet-enabled perpetual present, but how the heck is it already March? This is not a rhetorical question. If you could explain this to me, that would be great. Yet in keeping pace with the relentless march of seconds turning into minutes turning into … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsGreed Week
Rising Drug Prices Aren’t Going to Stop Under Trump
Earlier this July, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced price jumps for many of its brand name drugs, including the smoking cessation aid Chantix and the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra. But less than a month later, the company reversed course, seemingly bending to pressure from President Donald Trump, who called out the company on—what else—Twitter and then … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
FDA Approves New 23andMe Pharmacogenetic Reports, But There Are Some Caveats
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Wednesday that it has approved the marketing of 23andMe’s reports on pharmacogenetics, which the genetic-testing company claims are designed to assess whether genetics may affect an individual’s ability to metabolize certain drugs including antidepressants. The company is characterizing the move as the “first authorization of a direct-to-consumer … Continued
By Catie Keck -
ScienceHealth
Courts Halt Nevada’s Disgusting Plan to Execute Convicted Killer With Untested Drug Cocktail
The execution of twice-convicted killer Scott Raymond Dozier in Nevada on Wednesday was postponed after pharmaceutical company Alvogen requested a federal judge prevent officials from botching an execution with their drug midazolam. Per the Associated Press, Alvogen claimed that Nevada prison officials obtained the sedative, which authorities have used in numerous botched executions that left … Continued
By Tom McKay
