An article published this week on the Natural News website reports that the number  of deaths and serious injuries as the result of prescription drugs more than doubled from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008.

According to a report  by the Institute of Safe Medication Practices, researchers found mention of 4,825 fatalities and more than 21,000 serious injuries between January and March, 2008.

The vast majority of the reported fatalities and injuries were attributed to misuse of over the counter pain medications like ibuprofen but 10 drugs accounted for  more than 100 fatalities each, more than 20 percent of the total.

The two single most lethal drugs were the anti-smoking drug varenicline — marketed as Chantix — and the blood thinner heparin. While heparin was responsible for killing a 102 people and injuring 779, the vast majority of these cases were associated with a batch of contaminated medication imported from China. Since the discovery of the tainted drugs, injuries and deaths from heparin have dropped off.

Chantix, in contrast, continues to cause high rates of injury and deaths, accounting for 50 fatalities and 1,001 serious injuries in the first quarter of the year. Since its approval in 2006, the drug has been implicated in 112 fatalities and 3,325 serious injuries. Many of these injuries were self-inflicted and stemmed from the drug’s psychiatric side effects, while others stemmed from seizures, blackouts, loss of consciousness and sudden heart arrhythmia.

If you or a loved one has suffered harm after taking a prescription drug, it is important that you seek the  professional advice of a defective drug attorney.

A North Carolina syringe factory that has been linked to the heparin scandal operated for almost two years without an inspection by the FDA. In a story published by the Associated Press the FDA failed to inspect the company even after complaints were filed about the syringes being dirty or filled with colored particles.

In 2007, before the heparin outbreak, the FDA received more than a dozen reports of problems with the AM2PAT’s syringes. Some reported “orange specks” floating inside the unopened syringes, and others reported “yellow sediment” or “muddy brown” syringes with floating white specks.

The FDA says they first received complaints of particles in the heparin syringes in November 2005. An FDA spokeswoman said the company was inspected in January 2006, but wasn’t checked again until December 2007—22 months later.

While the FDA declined to release its inspection reports from the January 2006 and December 2007 visits to the syringe plant, the reports could be released through a Freedom of Information act request.

Baxter International Inc. has assumed responsibility in the nation-wide heparin contamination that endangered the health of thousands. Though they have admitted fault for their role in the distribution of the defective drug, Baxter denies any part in “deliberate” contamination.

Reports of serious allergic reactions and deaths associated with heparin doses began late in December of 2007. By January, there were sufficient reports of adverse reactions to prompt Baxter to recall about 10 percent of their annual production of heparin.

The contamination was finally linked to heparin manufacturing plants in China last March. Since then, there have been numerous investigations to find the responsible parties, since Chinese drug manufacturing is significantly less regulated than that in the United States.

The defective drug lawyers at Cappolino Dodd  Krebs LLP take on cases of defective drugs and injury caused by negligent companies. Have you been injured due to faulty pharmaceuticals? call our Texas office today.