Generally, when you go to the doctor for a checkup, you don’t fill your prescriptions right there in the office at the same time that you hand over your co-pay. That generally is what pet owners do at the vet, though. As it turns out, the cheapest place to get your pets’ drugs may not be mail-order pharmacies or your vet’s office, but the chain or independent pharmacy where you get drugs for the human members of your family. [More]
drugs
Pfizer To Sell Viagra Direct To Consumers Online, Not Through Spam Messages
By 5.6.13
Do you want all of the ease of ordering Viagra online, with none of the risk that you’re helping support a global spam empire? Soon, you may be in luck! Sort of. Pfizer, makers of Viagra, announced recently that they plan to sell the famed erectile-dysfunction drug directly to consumers, instead of to pharmacies through wholesalers. [More]
How To Save Money By Not Using Your Health Insurance
By 4.30.13
We’ve covered the topic of low-cost generic medicines in the past, helping a reader save more than $300 in out-of-pocket expenses every year by filling his prescriptions at a discount store and not using his health insurance. That’s just one person, though. Can this plan work for everyone? Our sibling publication Consumer Reports deployed their nationwide network of secret shoppers to find out. [More]
FDA Knew Lab Committed Research Fraud, Approved Drug They Tested Anyway
By 4.22.13
After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration learned about potentially fraudulent work done on behalf of pharmaceutical companies by a contract research firm in Texas, they didn’t pull the drugs off the market. You might think, though, that they might hold off on approving new drugs based on testing that came from that lab. You would be wrong. [More]
UPS Hit With $40 Million Settlement In Illegal Online Pharmacy Probe
By 3.29.13
UPS may have lost to FedEx in the first round of the Worst Company In America competition, but the shipping giant is getting away relatively unscathed from a Dept. of Justice criminal probe into deliveries it made for illegal online pharmacies. [More]
February Food And Drug Recall Roundup – Antibiotic Pig Ear Edition
By 2.28.13
Chewy pig skins, chia seed treats, brownie mix, and herbal supplements that are a little too close to actual drugs: it’s all here, in the Food and Drug Edition of the Recall Roundup. [More]
Mom Claims 4-Year-Old Found Drugs At Chuck E. Cheese’s, Manager Wouldn’t Call Cops
By 2.19.13
A mother in Illinois says her young daughter found an unexpected gift baggie while attending a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese’s. Making matters worse, the mom claims that the restaurant’s management refused to notify the police for fear of being shut down. [More]
24 Kinds Of Triaminic And Theraflu Recalled Because Childproof Caps Aren’t Childproof
By 2.1.13
Poor Novartis: things just keep going wrong at their plants. Last year, they had multiple recalls, including many of their over-the-counter drugs and a line of birth control pills. Now, the company has recalled liquid Triaminic and TheraFlu products because the products’ caps aren’t childproof. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has heard about twelve kids who have opened the bottle themselves, four of whom had a taste. One needed medical attention. [More]
FDA Says Ambien Is Making Us Too Groggy In The Morning, Requires Lower Recommended Dosages
By 1.10.13
Zolpidem, the active ingredient in prescription sleep aids Ambien, Edluar, and Zolpimist, is apparently leaving some users — especially women — groggy and impaired in the morning. Thus, the FDA is requiring the manufacturers of these drugs to lower the current recommended doses. [More]
Biotech Biggie Amgen To Pay $762 Million Over Improper Marketing Of Anemia Drug
By 12.18.12
The world’s largest biotechnology company pleaded guilty in federal court today for improper marketing practices involving its anemia drug Aranesp, and says it will pay $762 million in a combination of civil settlements and criminal fines. It won’t lose out on any federal business or contracts, however, which would’ve been a veritable death knell for the company. [More]
When Customs Seizes The Cocaine And Meth You Sent Via FedEx, Don’t Call And Ask Why
By 11.30.12
In general, we support complaining to a company when you didn’t get what you paid for, no matter how small the amount. It’s only fair. Even we have to admit, though, that a California man might have been better off not calling to check on the whereabouts of the packages he sent through FedEx to the Philippines. Law enforcement is glad that he did, though. Prosecutors say that the boxes contained three kilograms of methamphetamine and one hundred grams of cocaine. [More]
Lawsuit Accuses Big Pharma Of Using Bogus Expiration Dates To Trick Customers Into Buying More Meds
By 10.24.12
When it comes to over-the-counter pain pills, many people don’t even think to look at the expiration date on the side of the bottle. But a new class-action lawsuit claims that three of the biggest names in the (legal) drug business are deliberately putting early expiration dates on their products to encourage customers to throw them out and buy new ones. [More]
Shortages Force Paramedics To Use Expired Drugs
By 7.13.12
Many of us have probably popped a pill or two that we knew had passed its expiration date. But when you get medical care from professionals, there is usually the expectation that you’re getting the freshest stuff available. But a conspiracy of conditions has led to some emergency responders stocking their ambulances with out-of-date drugs. [More]
Where Has My Slow Fe Iron Supplement Gone?
By 7.13.12
Cheryl takes iron supplements. She has iron deficiency anemia, and the vast majority of iron supplements on the market make her ill. She’s come to rely on Slow-Fe, made by Novartis, to keep her iron levels up and her digestive system functioning. Then Slow-Fe disappeared. Her regular pharmacist can’t find any to order, and the only sources online are re-sellers with expired products. Remembering our past coverage of catastrophic OB tampon, Eggo waffle, and Morningstar veggie dog shortages, Cheryl wrote to us, asking for help. Could we help her figure out where her precious iron had gone? [More]
Excedrin Recall Sends Desperate Migraine Sufferers To eBay
By 7.11.12
Six months ago, production problems at a Novartis plant manufacturing over-the-counter, generic, and veterinary drugs prompted FDA action and a recall of common over-the-counter drugs such as Excedrin, No-Doz, and Gas-X. While generic versions of all of these drugs are commonly available, some Excedrin users don’t find them effective and have been clamoring for the original. Novartis isn’t producing any new Excedrin, and prices on eBay are now nearing $1 per tablet. [More]
Utah Woman Finds Free Prize In Her Tampons — Cocaine
By 5.3.12
When you buy a laptop for a couple bucks at a salvage and recovery store, you take a chance it might not be good as new. But if you’re buying a box of tampons from the same outlet, you might ask “what could possibly be wrong?” Well… lots. [More]
Three Delta Employees Charged With Smuggling At Least $600K In Drugs
By 5.3.12
Even though it could result in a life sentence and millions of dollars in fines, airline and airport staff continue to think that smuggling drugs is a good way to earn a few extra bucks on the side. [More]
FDA Adds Diabetes & Memory Loss Warnings To Statins
By 2.28.12
Widely used cholesterol-lowering statin drugs like Lipitor (atorvastatin), Crestor (rosuvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), Simcor (simvastatin/niacin extended-release), Vytorin (simvastatin/ezetimibe) and many others will now have additional warnings on their packaging, according to an announcement from the Food & Drug Administration. [More]
