Jack Vitayanon – Law Professor, IRS Attorney Advisor, Drug Lord
An undercover sting led discovered attorney adviser Jack Vitayanon had been deep in a drug ring from September 2014 to January 2017.
Drugs & Medical Devices
Tom Price for HHS? The Price Is Wrong!
Tom Price, Trump’s pick to lead Health and Human Services, has an ethically questionable investment and legislative history. Just days after purchasing stock in Zimmer Biomet, for example, he turned around and introduced legislation that would significantly benefit this manufacturer of artificial joint replacements by delaying implementation of a Medicare rule to enhance safety and save taxpayer money. Now Trump wants him to lead the department that regulates companies like Zimmer Biomet as well as overseeing Medicare. Our elders deserve better than this.
Pyrrhic Victory for Johnson & Johnson
A Dallas judge’s ruling resulted in a pyrrhic victory for Johnson & Johnson. The latest and possibly last chapter in a long-lasting court case came to a close at the beginning of January. For two years, Johnson & Johnson had been fighting six plaintiffs’ accusations of negligence. At the forefront of the drama was a
Can Your Heart Device Be Hacked?
Heart device users beware. The Homeland Security Department and FDA recently issued warnings about a cybersecurity flaw in one of St. Jude’s medical devices, an implantable heart device. The warning was issued upon discovering that hackers could potentially “take control of a person’s defibrillator or pacemaker” remotely. As if that’s not bad enough, this flaw
New Paper Shines Spotlight On Popular Morning Sickness Drug
For many women, pregnancy is one of those magical times full of excitement. Unfortunately, pregnancy also doles out one particular unpleasant side effect to many moms to be — morning sickness. Morning sickness is one of the more common side effects of pregnancy and impacts an estimated 75% of women. About 1% of women experience
Lawsuits Over EpiPen Begin Rolling In Against Mylan
Mylan, a company that came under fire last year for drastically raising their prices of the EpiPen, a lifesaving device used by many across the country, is now back in the news. Despite introducing a generic version of their allergy medication in response to the backlash they received, lawsuits against the company have begun to spring
Dental Care May Have Exposed Vets to HIV, Hepatitis
After willfully failing to follow proper infection control procedures over the course of a year, a dentist who provided care to hundreds of veterans at Wisconsin’s Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center has put those he treated at potential risk for developing HIV and Hepatitis B and C. This latest development follows the center’s already tarnished
Massachusetts Hospitals Cited for Failing to Report Deaths
A recent report released by the FDA indicates over a dozen hospitals nationwide, including three in Massachusetts alone, have been cited for failing to report patient injuries and deaths due to faulty medical devices. The FDA inspected 17 hospitals over a two-year period as part of an improved attempt to ensure problems such as these
EpiFail: Gov’t Knew EpiPen Was Misclassified in 2009
As previously reported, Mylan Inc., the pharmaceutical manufacturer of the life-saving EpiPen, misclassified their brand name drug as generic for years, thus deceiving and effectively defrauding governmentally-funded insurance providers Medicare and Medicaid, resulting in millions of dollars in overpayments by taxpayers, all in an effort to save themselves money prior to hiking the price of
DOJ Urged to Reject Mylan Settlement by Senator
United States Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has written a letter urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to reject the proposed $465 million settlement reached between the government and Mylan, Inc. after it was discovered the beleaguered corporation, responsible for increasing the price of the life-saving EpiPen to $600 per 2-pak in August of this