Pfizer May No Longer be Able to Delay Paying Its Asbestos Claims of Nearly $1 Billion
Pfizer, which claims to be the "world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company," is one step closer to paying a nearly one billion dollar settlement of legal claims of harms due to the asbestos products it used to manufacture.Pfizer Settles - More or Less - Some of its Asbestos Liability Most people would not think of Pfizer as a producer of asbestos. However, the back-story, as reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and as we discussed here in 2011, is thatPfizer used to have a minerals, pigments and metals division and, in 1968, it bought Quigley Company Inc., which made insulation for heavy industry.Quigley...
Source: Health Care Renewal - June 28, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: deception Quigley Pfizer mission-hostile management legal settlements asbestos Source Type: blogs
Pharmalot... Pharmalittle... Good Morning
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope you had a chance to rest, because that challening routine of deadlines and meetings has now resumed and will not go away for several more days, if at all. So please join us as we cope by quaffing a cup of stimulation - once again, we are reaching for Hazelnut Cinnamon. Meanwhile, here is the usual menu of tidbits. Hope your day is successful and drop us a line at ed@pharmalot.com if you run across anything fascinating...
Supreme Court Refuses To Shield Pfizer From Some Asbestos Lawsuits (Bloomberg News)
FDA Cancer Czar Can't Approve Drugs Fast Enough (For...
Source: Pharmalot - June 24, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
Pfizer still on the asbestos hook
he U.S. Supreme Court refused to shield Pfizer Inc. from some asbestos lawsuits connected to its Quigley Co. subsidiary, a bankrupt unit that stopped most operations in 1992.
The justices today rejected Pfizer’s appeal of a ruling that opened the New York-based drugmaker to some claims related to Quigley, which made asbestos-containing products for the steel industry from the 1940s to the 1970s. Pfizer acquired Quigley in 1968. Asbestos, once widely used an insulator, was later shown to cause cancer.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2013/06/24/296464.htm? (Source: PharmaGossip)
Source: PharmaGossip - June 24, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Clinical Research:Patient-Centered Goals:Set by Who?: The Patients!
Discussion Blog)
Source: Bioethics Discussion Blog - June 11, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs
Radiology Note- Asbestosis & Pleural Plaques
Pleural plaques occur on the parietal pleura and are most commonly located (bilaterally) between the 7th and 10th ribs in the posterolateral midportion of the chest wall. They are also commonly seen on the aponeurotic portion of the diaphragm, the mediastinum, and following the rib contours. They typically spare the visceral pleura, apices, and costophrenic angles
From Sumer's Radiology Site http://www.sumerdoc.blogspot.com -The Top Radiology Magazine. Teleradiology Providers at www.teleradproviders.com Mail us at sales@teleradproviders.com (Source: Sumer's Radiology Site)
Source: Sumer's Radiology Site - June 11, 2013 Category: Radiologists Authors: Sumer Sethi Source Type: blogs
On-Site Asbestos Detector to Help Prevent Dangerous Exposure
Asbestos continues to be a health concern in the industrialized world for people working in building remediation, demolition, or a few specialty industries like car breaks manufacturing. Screening environments for the presence of asbestos fibers can help people avoid the cancer-causing mineral mix and identify where breathing apparatuses should be used. Fiber detectors already exist, but they can’t differentiate between asbestos and other materials like fiberglass and gypsum.Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK have developed a new sensor that is capable of quickly identifying the presence of as...
Source: Medgadget - May 3, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: in the news... Source Type: blogs
Drug reps. The sinister side-effects of drug marketing By Alan Cassels
This study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine and carried out by researchers in Canada, the U.S. and France, asked the question: When a drug sales rep has a private one-to-one conversation with a doctor, what kind of drug information does the physician actually receive?
If you’ve ever seen the well-dressed men and women with iPads and nice shoes in your doctor’s waiting room, you’ll know what a drug sales rep looks like. Working on behalf of pharmaceutical companies, they visit our doctors on an individual basis, dropping off free samples of medications, talking up the company’s products and ot...
Source: PharmaGossip - April 25, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Sarcoma – Signs, Histology, and Treatment
Pathophysiology of Soft Tissue Sarcoma
1) sarcomas of the soft tissue are a family of neoplasms affecting the soft tissue of the body Causes 2) previous radiation 3) HIV 4) genetic predisposition such as L-Fraumeni syndrome 5) asbestosis 6) congenital immunodeficiences 7) dioxin exposure 8) Herpes virus
Signs and Symptoms
1) most common presentation is an enlarging mass 2) pain 3) neuralgia and neurologic deficits, if the tumor encases a nerve structure 4) metastases are usually via the blood system and most commonly go to the lungs
Characteristic Test Findings
Radiology – mass on MRI
Histology/Gross Pathology
1) m...
Source: Inside Surgery - January 27, 2013 Category: Surgeons Authors: Editor Tags: Oncology angiosarcoma leimyosarcoma malignant fibrous histiocytosis p53 Schwannoma tumor suppressor Source Type: blogs
What’s the Diagnosis #16 — Mmmmm, Eggs
This is an interesting case for a number of reasons.
First, it shows how a little testing can turn into a lot of testing to “rule out” diseases in the emergency department.
Second, it hopefully provides some good teaching points.
Third, the comment from the attending physician gave me the giggles. That will explain the title. But you have to read through the case to understand the comment.
I’m not going to discuss all the minute details of the case, only the major findings that contribute to the flow of the case.
A patient got sent in from the nursing home because her gastrostomy tube was leaking blood an...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 25, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Medical Topics Patient Encounters Source Type: blogs
Pfizer's Pfourteenth Settlement - a Small Reminder of Continuing Impunity
Well, that did not take long. Less than a month after its last legal settlements were announced, Pfizer had to settle again. The Details of the Settlement This case, involving charges filed by the Texas Attorney General, was only reported locally, e.g., here in the Houston Business Journal:The state of Texas will receive more than $36 million from two civil Medicaid fraud settlements with Pfizer Inc and Endo Pharmaceuticals, Attorney General Greg Abbott said Friday. Both companies will pay $18.17 million to the state, plus attorney fees and relator shares. The federal government is also entitled to a sha...
Source: Health Care Renewal - January 11, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: executive compensation deception boards of directors impunity Pfizer legal settlements governance Source Type: blogs
Coming To Terms With A Terminal Illness
Coping with a terminal illness is one of the most difficult things to do in life. It is incredibly difficult to cope; for the sufferer and their family and friends. There are a number of things to talk about, come to terms with and decide on; but of course, the first thing needs to be the process of coming to terms with the affliction.
Telling loved ones can be incredibly difficult, from everyone’s point of view. For those hearing the news it is obviously terrible to find out that a loved one has a terminal disease. Even for those who do the telling it can be difficult to bring somebody down and see the way they react.
C...
Source: Mental Nurse - July 31, 2012 Category: Nurses Authors: Iqcguest Tags: Mental health mesothelioma Terminal Illness Source Type: blogs
Breast Carcinoma vs. Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma
Some authors have estimated that 4-9% of patients with breast carcinoma will eventually develop second pulmonary carcinomas. As a result, many pathologists have been faced with the problem of trying to determine whether a particular lung carcinoma represents metastatic breast carcinoma or a new primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma. This month, we will briefly review antibodies that may be useful in addressing this differential diagnostic problem.GCDFP-15(gross cystic disease fluid protein-15): This marker has good specificity for breast carcinoma, although its sensitivity is not high, as only about 50% of breast carcinomas exp...
Source: Oncopathology - December 30, 2010 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Breast Carcinoma vs. Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma Source Type: blogs
Work up of Carcinoma of Unknown Primary (CUP)
It is often important to determine the site of origin of a metastatic carcinoma of unknown primary site, particularly because this may affect the choice of the treatment. Determination of the primary site may take several steps.Clinical features, such as age, sex, and site of metastases may give a first indication.A detailed pathologic examination of the most accessible biopsied tissue specimen is mandatory in CUP cases. Pathologic evaluation typically consists of hematoxylin-and-eosin stains and immunohistochemical tests.Electron microscopy is rarely used currently, although it may beselectively useful when making treatme...
Source: Oncopathology - May 4, 2009 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Work up of Carcinoma of Unknown Primary (CUP) Source Type: blogs
