The drug approved to treat lung and pancreatic cancers called Tarceva has been linked to serious side effects including potentially fatal digestive tract perforations, skin reactions and eye problems. The complications from this defective drug have prompted the Food & Drug Administration to announce new warnings for the drug’s label.

The drug Tarceva is one of a class of cancer drugs known as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) trosine kinase inhibitors, which are treatments designed to block the EGFR protein. This protein is believed to play a role in cancer cell growth.

The risk for gastrointestinal perforations while undergoing Terceva therapy is greatest in patients receiving concomitant anti-angiogenic agents, corticosteroids, NSAIDs, and/or taxane-based chemotherapy, or who have prior history of peptic ulceration or diverticular disease. According to the letter, some instances of perforation had been fatal.

In addition, some Tarceva patients had developed bullous, blistering and exfoliative skin conditions, even suggestive of Stevens-Johnson syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis. Some of the defective drug cases have resulted in deaths.

Once again, the blood-thinning drug heparin has been linked to fatalities in patients. Five patients at Beebe Medical Center in Delaware fell ill after being treated with heparin IV bags. Two of the patients have died.

The IV bags contained diluted heparin that has been approved for a number of blood-thinning purposes. All five bags came from the pharmaceutical company Baxter International. This is not the first time that Baxter has been linked to heparin fatalities. In 2008, they had to recall thousands of cheap, tainted heparin products.

These two recent deaths have prompted the Food and Drug Administration to launch an investigation into the incident. So far, the FDA has not accused Baxter of distributing tainted heparin, nor have they implied that heparin itself may be less safe than previously thought. They said that it was only  “unusual” circumstances in the Delaware deaths that made them decide to investigate.

An independent lab is currently testing the Baxter heparin used at Beebe.

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that the deaths of two patients treated with possibly contaminated heparin may have been an isolated incident.

Five patients recently fell ill in a Delaware medical center after being treated with heparin IV bags supplied by Baxter International. Two of the patients, a 71-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman, have died, and a third patient remains hospitalized. These three people all suffered cerebral hemorrhages.

However, the FDA has found no evidence of contamination, nor have they received additional reports of fatalities or other serious injuries linked to heparin use. The FDA has determined that this incident alone is not enough to make any decisions about the production of heparin. FDA representatives have issued statements that patients should not worry about being treated with heparin.

Anyone who has suffered a defective drug injury should contact an experienced lawyer immediately as they may be eligible to receive compensation through a defective drug lawsuit.