St. Jude Medical, Inc. Heart Device Recall

St. Jude Medical, Inc. is a global company that designs and manufactures health management solutions, including heart devices. On October 11, 2016, the company issued a field advisory to physicians, patients and caregivers warning that the company’s Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, ICD, and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Defibrillator, CRT-D, device batteries may prematurely fail, and a recall


Woman Sues Over Surgical Device Left in Her Body

After what was supposed to be a routine gynecological procedure, a California woman realized it would wind up being anything but. Michelle Doig-Collins visited her OB/GYN in April 2016 for a uterine ablation and tubal ligation; the mother of three had been experiencing prolonged bleeding during her menstrual cycle, which left her in a great


Outrage over EpiPen Price Hike Continues

Poor Heather Bresch. She just can’t seem to escape the public’s continued outrage over her decision as Mylan’s Big Pharma CEO to increase the price of the life-saving EpiPen in order to line her already custom couture pockets. On Wednesday, September 21, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called Ms. Bresch to testify


Powerful Antibiotic Use is on the Rise in U.S. Hospitals

The Centers for Disease Control, CDC, conducted a study that found powerful antibiotic use is on the rise in U.S. hospitals. The antibiotics in question are potent drugs designed to treat bacterial infections. They have historically been used after other treatment options have failed. The study was instituted as a result of the increasing incidents



Failure to Medicate: Ex-Inmate Awarded $3 Million

John Henricks, a former inmate of the Ohio state prison system, was awarded a $3 million dollar settlement by a jury earlier this week after the state failed to answer his complaint in the appropriate amount of time. Henricks, who initially represented himself when he filed the case, accused Dr. Ida Gonzalez, along with the


Another Day, Another Big Pharma Bully

In yet another unsurprising case of Big Pharma trying to control the fate of millions of Americans’ health, Insys Therapeutics has donated $500,000 to an anti-legalization of marijuana campaign in Arizona known as Proposition 205. Pro-legalization advocates view the half million dollar donation as a further attempt to line the pockets of powerful drug corporations


DEA Proposes Rule to Classify Kratom as Schedule I Drug

The Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, published a notice on August 31, 2016, of its intent to temporarily schedule Kratom as a Schedule I drug. According to the DEA, the measure is needed to “avoid imminent hazard to public safety”. Schedule I includes    heroin and other dangerous drugs. That rule is scheduled to become effective September


Dallas Pharmacist Kumi Frimpong Pleads Guilty in Pill Mill Operation

In January, 2016, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas issued a press release announcing that arrests had been made in what was dubbed as the “Dallas Pill Mill”. U.S. Attorney John Parker stated that the arrests were in relation to a conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances. The drugs involved included


St. Jude Medical Filed a Lawsuit Against MedSec and Muddy Waters

According to its September 7, 2016, press release, St. Jude Medical filed a lawsuit against MedSec and Muddy Waters Consulting, MedSec Holdings, Muddy Waters Capital, and three principals in those firms. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Minnesota. St. Jude Medical’s, SJM, allegations include “false statements, false advertising, conspiracy and the