Contaminated packs of St John’s Wort herbal medicines recalled Contaminated packs of St John’s Wort herbal medicines are being recalled because they contain higher than recommended levels of a toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid, which can cause liver problems in patients.…
FDA issues safety warning about AbbVie’s hepatitis C treatments The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a safety warning about two hepatitis C treatments, which it says can cause serious liver injury and can result in death.…
FDA strengthens fracture warnings for canagliflozin The US medicines safety watchdog has strengthened its warnings about the risk of bone fractures for type 2 diabetes patients who take canagliflozin.…
Zoledronic acid ‘patient card’ would reduce risk of bone tissue deathUse of a patient reminder card has been recommended by a committee of the European Medicines Agency to minimise the risk of jaw osteonecrosis associated with zoledronic acid.…
Blowing the whistle on whistleblowing Concerns raised about standards of care should be taken seriously, but healthcare workers are still worried about the repercussions of speaking up.…
Hydroxyzine safety measures loom after heart risk review The European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee has confirmed that hydroxyzine is associated with a “small but definite risk” of serious heart rhythm anomalies.…
Medicines regulator warns over unlicensed blood plasma productAn unlicensed medicine sold via European websites and which claims to treat HIV, cancer and autism, contains blood plasma never intended for human use.…
Is it time to rethink the place of oral diclofenac? In light of the withdrawal of diclofenac from OTC sale in UK pharmacies over concerns about cardiovascular safety, it may be time to reconsider the role of the drug altogether.…
Initial Fluad investigations find no manufacturing defectPreliminary investigations have found no manufacturing defect in the influenza vaccine Fluad, which has been linked to the deaths of 13 older people in Italy.…
Creating a culture of whistleblowing for pharmacists How do we improve the treatment of whistleblowers in the healthcare sector?…
