Don't Count on the FDA for the Safety of Your Drugs

What did one multinational pharmaceutical giant recently do when it didn't like the results of research into a new drug for schizophrenia? It buried the in-house study, convinced the Food and Drug Administration to approve the medication anyway, and sold it to the public.

The FDA had access to the study, but claimed it had no authority to release it. The agency approved the drug, Seroquel, along with the misleading "warnings" about its side effects by manufacturer AstraZeneca International. Doctors were never told of the research, and thousands of patients suffered serious side effects, including diabetes, hypoglycemia and excessive weight gain.

"This is one more example of how drug companies place profits over safety, while doing great harm to the public," said Personal Injury attorney Howard Krepack. "The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that patients can sue drug-makers that fail to provide adequate warnings about potentially dangerous drugs gives consumers an opportunity for justice."

The law firm of Gordon, Edelstein, Krepack, Grant, Felton & Goldstein, LLP has had great success representing clients harmed by toxic substances, such as unsafe drugs.