Latest Drugs Headlines

All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Cannabis Banking Challenges in Legal States Go Far Beyond Pot

Oct 16 2019 // Kat Merryfield was ready to share her farm-to-home oils, chocolates and creams with the rest of the country. But banks and credit card processors weren’t ready to work with her small business.“We started out...

J&J’s Legal Beating May Only Get Worse with Baby Powder, Opioid, Hip and Other Claims

Oct 14 2019 // Johnson & Johnson has taken some costly beatings in court this year. And it could get worse.Just last week, a jury ordered J&J to pay $8 billion for wrongfully pushing doctors to prescribe the anti-psychotic drug...

Court Allows Judge Opposed by Drug Firms to Oversee Nationwide Opioid Trial

Oct 11 2019 // A federal appeals court on Thursday cleared the way for a landmark trial over the nation’s opioid crisis, rejecting a bid by eight drug retailers and distributors to disqualify the judge, and a request by Ohio and...

Cannabis Industry: More Regs Will Help Address Vaping Crisis

Oct 10 2019 // In the midst of a vaping crisis that has gripped the nation’s cannabis industry what is needed most right are more regulations.Believe it or not, that was a message from the industry itself. A group of expert...

J&J Hit with Year’s Largest Jury Award Over Marketing Risperdal Drug to Teens

Oct 9 2019 // Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit was hit with an $8 billion punitive-damages verdict — the largest jury award in the U.S. this year — over its alleged mishandling of an anti-psychotic drug blamed for...

How Medical Community Can Overcome Error of Its Ways in Opioids and Vaping: Opinion

Sep 24 2019 // When the medical community makes mistakes, it’s like shooting down a few hundred airplanes every year. That’s a dramatic metaphor that has stuck in my mind since I first heard it from a doctor, and an apt way...

Tennessee Appeals Court Says Opioid Producers Can Be Sued

Sep 23 2019 // The Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled that a lawsuit against opioid makers can move forward, overturning a lower court that had dismissed the claims.At issue is whether Tennessee’s Drug Dealer Liability Act...

How Pharmacies Are Resisting Amazon’s Attempt to Corner Their Business

Sep 19 2019 // Getting into the pharmacy business was easy for Amazon.com: It paid $753 million to buy the mail-order startup PillPack. The hard part has been prying patients away from their local drugstore.Since being acquired by the...

Pharmacies, Distributors Say Opioid Case Judge Biased, Seek Removal

Sep 16 2019 // AmerisourceBergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., CVS Health Corp. units and other prescription drug distributors and pharmacies moved to bounce Cleveland federal judge Dan Polster from the massive opioid liability case...

Gene Therapy Drugs That Cost Millions Have Employers and Health Plans Worried

Sep 13 2019 // Employers and health plans fear they could be swamped financially by a coming wave of expensive new genetic therapies for rare diseases.Regulators have recently approved two treatments that sell at many multiples of the...

Reuters: How Court Lets Merck Hide Baldness Drug Propecia’s Risks

Sep 12 2019 // By the time Kelly Pfaff got home from driving her son to school that morning, it was too late.Her husband, John, was supposed to be taking their 4-year-old daughter to school. But the girl and the nanny were still at the...

Generic Drugmaker Mallinckrodt Settles Opioid Lawsuits with 2 Ohio Counties

Sep 9 2019 // One of the largest makers of generic opioids has settled a lawsuit with two Ohio counties, removing the company from the first federal trial over the toll of the opioid crisis.United Kingdom-based Mallinckrodt announced...

Report: California Workers’ Comp Medical Payment Trends Fell in 2018

Sep 4 2019 // Medical payments in California’s workers’ compensation system continued to decline in 2018 as the medical payments per claim decreased, according to a report from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance...

Drug Firms Must Face Trial Over Opioids, Judge Orders

Sep 4 2019 // A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected efforts by major drugmakers, pharmacies and distributors to dismiss claims that they caused the nation’s opioid crisis, clearing the way for a scheduled landmark trial even as he...

Report Examines First-Year Impact of California’s New Drug Formulary

Sep 3 2019 // A new report shows that an evidence-based drug formulary put into effect by the California Division of Workers’ Compensation over a year ago may be working.The formulary went into effect Jan. 1, 2018. It was intended...

Federal Officials Issue Health Warning on Marijuana Use by Teens, Pregnant Women

Sep 3 2019 // Federal health officials issued a national warning Thursday against marijuana use by adolescents and pregnant women, as more states legalize the increasingly potent drug for medicinal and recreational use.Health and Human...

Purdue Pharma Floats $10-$12 Billion Opioid Settlement: Reuters

Aug 28 2019 // OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and its owners, the Sackler family, are in discussion to settle more than 2,000 opioid lawsuits against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion, two people familiar with the matter said...

Opioid Epidemic Could Threaten Europe Too: Viewpoint

Aug 28 2019 // As drugmakers are being held responsible for fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, it might look at though they have nothing to fear in Europe, where, it’s often assumed, opioid misuse isn’t so rampant. The...

Captain of Ferry that Ran Aground in Boston Harbor Off Job Pending Drug Test

Aug 23 2019 // The captain of a commuter ferry that ran aground in Boston Harbor has been placed on leave pending drug test results.The Boston Globe reported Saturday that the captain was taken off the job pending the test, which is...

New Jersey Woman Gets Two Years in Compound Drug Fraud Scheme

Aug 22 2019 // A New Jersey woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for her role in a widespread fraud scheme involving public employees and compound prescription drugs.Kristie Masucci appeared before a judge in Camden on...