Blog

An article in Chemist World titled “J&J and the question of shadow research” discusses how we should evaluate the ethics of Johnson and Johnson (J&J) hiding payment for talcum powder ovarian cancer research.

The future of consumers’ right to bring state law claims against pharmaceutical companies for injuries caused by their drugs hangs in the balance as the United States Supreme Court reviews the federal appellate court’s decision in Levine v. Wyeth. Hundreds of women had filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical giant, Merck, for bone fractures suffered after taking osteoporosis drug, Fosamax.

June 29th, 2018: A new study published June 2018 in the Lancet’s Respiratory Medicine journal found a new combination therapy that improved patient outcome compared to standard chemotherapy treatment.

On May 29th, 2018 the Australia government made public a new Class II recall of LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral heads by Stryker. This follows a letter by Stryker in March 2018 to U.S. doctors notifying them the devices are failing more often than expected. This is a new list of components after a previous 2016 US recall for Stryker LFIT V40 femoral heads. All products listed are recalled if manufactured between 2002 and March 4, 2011.

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) filed documents with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) stating it will add a $2.5 billion charge to the books to cover future wildfire lawsuits and settlements. This charge will go on this current quarter ending June 30th.

June 18, 2018: The Today Show interviewed Kevin Kings, who is one of the latest victims of exploding vape batteries. Kevin was pulling into his driveway, when suddenly the e-cig battery exploded in his pocket and burst into flames. He jumped out of his car, with his pants and leg on fire. The fire then caused the second battery in his other pocket to explode and shoot out, striking him in the face. Doctors said that had the battery shrapnel shot a single inch over, Kevin could have lost his vision. His burns are so severe that a skin graft is needed to cover the burn wounds. “This is the worst pain I’ve ever been in my life,” says Kevin.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has finished their investigations into the cause of the North Bay Wildfires that occurred in October 2017. They have concluded that 12 fires were caused by electrical and distribution lines owned by PG&E, as well as power pole failures.

Uber sent an email to its users alerting them of new safety features available in the Uber app, as well as reiterating their plan to improve safety. This comes only after a CNN investigation into public court documents revealed over 100 cases of passengers assaulted and sexually assaulted by Uber drivers.

June 1, 2018: Uber failed to institute thorough background checks and hired thousands of convicts as drivers. The company is under fire for failing to institute full background checks, misleading statements about the strength of background checks, and for failing to protect passengers from sexual assault. Uber has previously settled with District Attorneys from Los Angeles and San Francisco for misleading safety statements, and is being sued for sharing a rape survivors medical records among top executives.

Uber announced April 2018 it would add a new “911” emergency feature to it’s app, the feature is now live in their app in the United States. Within the Uber app is a new “safety center” menu.