Parker & Waichman LLP and Aylstock, Witkens & Sasser PLC have filed a class action lawsuit against AstraZeneca, Europe’s second largest drug maker, in a U.S. District Court on behalf of all patients who have used the popular anti-psychotic drug Seroquel. Seroquel is part of the new class of anti-psychotic drugs known as atypical anti-psychotics.
A […]

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT-GlaxoSmithKline plans to meet this week with officials from the Department of Children and Families, after the state stopped prescribing Paxil to children in its care who suffer from depression.
DCF banned Paxil after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned against prescribing the popular anti-depressant to young people for major depression. The FDA […]

Zyprexa, Risperdal, and Seroquel may increase a patients’ risk of developing diabetes when compared with older antipsychotic drugs like Haldol, researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs said yesterday.
New York Times reported that, “Younger patients, under age 54, who took Zyprexa or Risperdal showed the highest risk of developing diabetes.”
The study of U.S. military […]

A proposed bill titled the Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act of 2003, or Victory Act, would give law enforcement increased investigative and wiretapping powers but also would link low-level, nonviolent drug dealers with terrorism.
The measure, which includes portion of the so-called Patriot ACT II, aims to increase the government’s ability to investigate, […]

The California State Senate Tuesday approved a bill that is considered to be the strongest consumer financial privacy standard in the nation. The bill requires insurance companies, banks and other businesses to get customer permission before selling or sharing personal data with affiliates or third party companies for any purpose other than to complete a […]

The Recording Industry Association of America says it will not target small violators when it sues people who illegally share copyrighted music on the Internet. The industry group says it only plans to go after violators who are illegal distributing a “substantial amount” of copyrighted music.
“RIAA is in no way targeting ‘de minimis’ users,” wrote […]

Almost 1 million U.S. teenagers who are overweight are at increased risk for developing diabetes and premature heart disease later in life, according to researchers. Metabolic syndrome is a condition associated with being overweight and “is perhaps the earliest warning sign of developing health problems”, Washington Post reported.
“It’s frighteningly common,” said Michael Weitzman, director of […]

Consumers have already registered 30 million telephone numbers on the new National Do Not Call List. In return telemarketers are trying hard to find loopholes and exemptions that will keep those phones ringing.
Savvy telemarketers are working hard to establish business relationships with sweepstakes companies to develop lists of unblocked phone numbers. For example, people […]

The Bush administration released a report last month on the U.S Postal Service, recommending that the agency “aggressively purse” the development of an intelligent mail system. The system would utilize barcodes or “smart stamps” to identify the sender, the destination and the class of mail.
CNET News.com reported “USPS already offers mail-tracking services to corporate customers. […]

Farmed salmon consumed in the United States may contain high levels of cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), said the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Salmon farming has made salmon the third most popular fish in America-and compromises 22 percent of all retail seafood counter sales, according to the environmental group.
In the meantime, the group recommends that consumers […]