Tequin Lawsuit & News Blog

New insulin pill on the horizon for diabetes

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 10:40:04 -0400

An insulin pill made from a chemical found in shrimp shells is being developed by Taiwanese scientists who are looking for alternatives to the daily injections faced by people with diabetes.

A BBC report said the team from the National Tsing Hua University found a nano-particle shell that can protect the drug from being destroyed by stomach acid. However, the doses currently needed to work in rat experiments far exceed those normally given to diabetics.

Insulin is needed by the body to stop the levels of sugar in the bloodstream getting too high. Diabetics cannot produce enough of this body chemical, and need to get more into their bloodstream.

Drugs which contain protein chemicals, including insulin, cannot survive exposure to stomach acid if swallowed and the only viable alternative to injections is a nasal spray.

The Taiwanese researchers discovered a way to encase the drug in a shell which would resist stomach acid and other digestive fluids and yet would be small enough to pass through the cells lining the small intestine and release their cargo into the bloodstream.

Bristol Myers Squibb Agrees to Pay $499 Million

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 10:38:38 -0400

Can you imagine how much money these pharmaceutical companies make that they rather pay a huge wad of money than lower the prices in the first place?

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. offered to pay $499 million to settle federal investigations into whether the company played a role in a pricing scheme that led insurers and government agencies to overpay for drugs. The company reduced its profit forecast to reflect the charges.

The New York-based drug maker entered an agreement in principle with the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts to pay the settlement and avoid civil and criminal charges.

Attorneys general of several states and a number of counties in New York charged that Bristol-Myers Squibb and several other drug companies caused the reported average wholesale prices of their drugs to be inflated - leading government programs and insurers to overpay since reimbursement rates were based on those lists. All the lawsuits were consolidated under the federal district court in Massachusetts.

Bristol-Myers Squibb products on the wholesale price list included the blood thinner Plavix - its best-selling drug - along with blood-pressure drug Avapro; cancer treatment, Taxol; and the cholesterol-lowering drug Pravachol. The company booked sales of $19.21 billion in 2005.

New help for diabetes: Chromium picolinate plus biotin

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:39:25 -0400

Chromium picolinate /biotin supplementation may represent an effective nutritional therapy to people with poorly controlled diabetes with the potential for improving lipid metabolism.

Chromium is an essential trace mineral that occurs naturally in small amounts in some foods, including brewer's yeast, lean meat, cheese, pork kidney, and whole grain bread and cereals. It is poorly absorbed by the human body but is known to play an important role in the metabolism of carbohydrate, fat, and protein.

A study presented at a meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in San Diego indicated that chromium picolinate is better absorbed by humans than other forms of the mineral.

Diabetes in Elementary School

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:16:08 -0400

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in school-aged children. Young patients with diabetes do not get a break from managing the deadly disease. They must maintain proper blood glucose levels throughout the day during class, field trips, athletics, and after school activities.

Injecting multiple insulin shots and taking oral medications on their own while balancing their food intakes with appropriate levels of exercise can be daunting. Students with diabetes are constantly making adjustments to their diet and activity to avoid hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).

http://www.examiner.com/a-409862~The_littlest_patients_cope_with_diabetes_in_school.html

Bayer donates $25 million worth of Cipro to Africa and Latin America

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:15:19 -0400

Bayer HealthCare has given a Cipro donation with a wholesale value worth more than $25 million to MAP (Medical Assistance Programs) International. The aid organization will distribute the critically needed antibiotic to clinics and hospitals in Africa and Latin America for diseases created by poverty where there is little or no access to essential medicines.

More than 20,000 people die each day in Africa from preventable diseases. Cipro is an antibiotic used to treat certain bacterial infections. Cipro tablets and suspension are used to treat pneumonia, bronchitis, some types of gonorrhea, bacterial diarrhea, typhoid fever, and bone, joint, skin, prostate, sinus, and urinary tract infections. (Web Wire)

One Step Closer for Curing Diabetes Type 1

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:14:39 -0400

New research at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Kids is being published in the journal Cell on Friday revealing that diabetes may in fact be a disease of the nervous system, not the auto immune system as previously thought.

During the course of their research at the hospital, doctors injected diabetic mice with capsaicin (the active ingredient in hot chili peppers) and a neuropeptide substance, which seemed to reverse the disease.

According to a pain expert and one of the lead researchers, "Mice with diabetes suddenly didn't have diabetes any more."
Although the researchers still need to confirm their findings in people, the doctors are optimistic the same connection between nerve endings and pancreatic performance exists in humans. (All Headlines)

Panic Attacks Linked to Diabetes

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:02:41 -0400

According to a study conducted at the Group Health Cooperative, there is a strong link between panic episodes and increased complications from diabetes.

The researchers surveyed diabetic patients about their symptoms, disability, social and emotional function, and quality of life. They also collected data on the patients' blood sugar levels, diabetic complications, and other illnesses.

The team had previously reported a strong link between diabetes and depression, which often goes along with panic disorders. They were interested in examining panic independently to see whether patients who have panic without depression would also have poor diabetic outcomes.

Panic attacks can mimic episodes of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar. The study didn't want people adjusting their blood sugar thinking they are having hypoglycemia when their symptoms are actually caused by a panic disorder.

Of the 4,385 patients surveyed, 193 reported experiencing recent episodes of panic or fear that caused them to change their immediate behavior. After accounting for the effect of depression, panic episodes were associated with higher blood sugar levels, increased diabetic complications and symptoms, greater disability, and lower self-rated health and functioning. (Source)

High blood sugar levels add to heart disease, strokes, and death

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:00:44 -0400

High blood sugar levels add to heart disease, strokes, and death

Scientists in the United States and New Zealand have calculated that in addition to the 960,000 diabetes deaths worldwide each year, raised blood sugar levels are linked to 1.5 million deaths from heart disease and 700,000 from strokes.

Too many people are dying as a result of their blood glucose being elevated even though many may well be below the clinical threshold of what is considered diabetes.
The findings were published in The Lancet medical journal which put the total mortality figure from high blood sugar at 3.1 million. (Diabetes Strokes)

Warning: Tendon Rupture Caused by Some Antibiotics

Tue, 7 Nov 2006 10:04:16 -0400

Warning: Tendon Rupture Caused by Some Antibiotics

Imagine taking an antibiotic like Tequin or Cipro for a bad bacterial infection and then getting tendonitis or a tendon rupture as a side effect. Scary. The Public Citizen consumer watchdog organization filed a petition with the FDA to warn people about this critical side effect.

Between November 1997 and the end of December 2005, 794 cases of fluoroquinolone-associated tendon rupture, tendonitis and other tendon disorders were reported to the FDA. Of those, 175 cases of tendon rupture occurred between 2003 and 2005. According to FDA estimates, these cases may make up only about 10 percent of all adverse events related to the use of these antibiotics.

To help protect the public, Public Citizen feels the FDA should add a black box warning, the strongest type of warning the FDA can request, to the professional product labels (package inserts) of all fluoroquinolone antibiotics, alerting health professionals about the risks of using the drugs. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics currently marketed in the United States include but are not limited to Tequin, Cipro, and Levaquin. (Worst Pills)

Bristol-Myers-Squibb (maker of Tequin) Loses Court Ruling

Wed, 1 Nov 2006 10:07:32 -0400

Bristol-Myers-Squibb (maker of Tequin) Loses Court Ruling

A U.S. District Court dealt a major blow to several big pharmaceutical companies (among them Bristol-Myers-Squibb) denying the companies' motion to dismiss a nationwide class action law suit alleging they defrauded consumers by illegally inflating the cost of prescription drugs.

The suit targets the multi-million dollar pharmaceutical companies' practice of inflating the Average Wholesale Price (AWP) they reported through publications for certain drugs. In turn, Medicare, Medicaid, and third-party payers such as insurance companies reimburse pharmacies and physicians for drugs they provide based on the AWP. Individual patients also pay out-of-pocket costs on this basis. The trial begins November 6 in Boston. (Yahoo)