American Home Products Under Fire
May 17, 2001
For many years, the American public has relied on American Home Products (AHP) to provide consumers with quality items such as Preparation H and Advil. Recently, however, American Home Products has had several lawsuits to handle in addition to running its business. One of the largest lawsuits surrounds the drugs Redux and Pondimin, both of which are forms of fenfluramine, the "fen" in the diet combination fen-phen.
Late last year, a federal judge agreed to a settlement allowing American Home Products to offer 11,000 people $4.8 billion. This legal settlement was in response to claims that Redux, Pondimin and the fen-phen combination caused potentially deadly heart valve defects.
Several other AHP drugs are under close scrutiny. A rotavirus vaccine has been recalled because several doctors reported that many of the babies treated with the vaccine developed serious bowel problems. Two other AHP drugs, Norplant and Duract, are also the subject of investigations and lawsuits.
The surge in lawsuits related to AHP's products has caused concern in the medical community. Many healthcare professionals wonder why so many of the drugs that AHP promotes have caused such health problems. Robert Essner, AHP's vice president of pharmaceutical research and development responds, "Pharmaceuticals can be a high-risk business, that's obvious. It can be a rewarding business, too."
Consumers using both prescription and over-the-counter drugs need to be mindful of adverse medical reactions. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 100,000 people die of adverse drug reactions each year.
Soon after Redux was approved, patients began reporting problems with the drug. In fact, 24 women treated with Redux at the Mayo Clinic all developed severe heart valve defects. The drug was soon recalled by the FDA due to the dangers of Redux side effects.
The agency's action led to the commencement of lawsuits around the country. In one Texas case, it was revealed that AHP was aware of the possible dangers associated with Redux, yet the company failed to update the label to reflect the problem. AHP claims that it was waiting on more data before it changed the label. In addition, the company believes that doctors are responsible for some of the problems associated with their drugs.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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