Fake Vioxx Journals Revealed in Australian Case

A class-action trial in Australia is causing great controversy by revealing that a number of fake medical journals were published to post favourable results for the drug Vioxx.

The publications, sponsored by Merck (the producer of Vioxx), had prestigious sounding-names like "The Australian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine." Names of doctors, who had never agreed to be involved, are listed in the publication as honorary board members. These fake journals were supposed to provide independent studies on the drug.

It is alleged that this was part of Merck's misleading sales strategy in promoting Vioxx.

Technorati Tags: vioxx, fake vioxx journals, australian class-action, Merck

Widow in Austrailia Gets $550,000 in Abestos Claim

A widow has won an award of $550,000 (Australian) on a claim against her husband's employers, a building materials firm. Unfortunately she died last year at the age of 64.

The NSW Dust Diseases Tribunal gave the award on Margaret Dawson's claim for compensation for having washed her husband's asbestos-contaminated clothes for years, causing her to develop mesothelioma.

Mrs Dawson is survived by her daughter and two grandchildren.

Technorati Tags: mesothelioma, asbestos

Pfizer Settles Nigerian Lawsuit

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The long-running legal saga in Nigeria that Pfizer has been embroiled in looks likely to come to an end with a settlement reached between the drug company and Nigeria's Kano state.

The Nigerian claims stem from an outbreak of meningitis in 1996 which killed thousands, and thousands more became paralysed. Pfizer tested a new oral antibiotic named Trovan (also known as Trovafloxacin) in Kano State's hospital for infectious diseases. it was administered to 200 sick children.

About 50 of the children died and 181 developed grave mental and physical disabilities. Pfizer concedes there were 11 deaths, but claims the deaths and injuries were not caused by the drug. The company also claims the drug trial was conducted properly according to international and local laws, with the approval of the government and the families concerned. It says the drug had in fact helped to save lives. The Nigerian government claims Pfizer did not obtain consent from the families, amounting to fraud.

There were a number of twists and turns, including a ruling in January 2009 by the Second Circuit US Court of Appeals in New York that the Nigerian families concerned could bring a case against Pfizer in the US, overturning a lower court ruling.

The details of the settlement in the multi-million dollar lawsuit have not been revealed, but it is said that the victims will receive compensation and a local hospital would also receive some money.

The case is now adjourned to May. A further suit in 2007 by the Nigerian government for an additional $6.5 billion is also expected to be withdrawn as a result of the settlement.

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Technorati Tags: pfizer, trovafloxacin, trovan, pharmaceutical company, nigeria, meningitis, oral antibiotic