DARVOCET/DARVON INJURY LAWYERS
Darvocet and Darvon were pulled off the market because of their association with dangerous and sometimes fatal heart rhythm problems. Developed in 1957, the prescription painkiller, Darvocet/Darvon, has been the subject of safety concerns for years, yet it was only in 2010 that the U. S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the manufacturer of Darvocet/Darvon took steps to protect patients from this dangerous medication. Lawyers at our firm who specialize in defective drug litigation are investigating potential Darvocet/Darvon lawsuits on behalf of anyone who suffered a heart injury while using this drug.
Our Darvocet/Darvon injury lawyers are currently offering free case evaluations to victims of this defective painkiller. If you or someone you love was injured by Darvocet or Darvon, or its generic equivalent, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. We urge you to contact one of our Darvocet/Darvon injury lawyers today to protect your legal rights.
DARVOCET SIDE EFFECTS
Darvocet is a combination of propoxyphene and acetaminophen. It was originally developed by Eli Lilly & Company, but is now markted by Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals. Propoxyphene, an opiod used to treat mild to moderate pain, was used by 10 million people in 2009, according to the FDA. Most of those patients received Darvocet.
In 2006, the consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen, asked the FDA to ban Darvocet, as well as Darvon (propoxyphene alone), saying the drugs had been associated with the deaths of at least 2,110 people between 1981 and 1999. Dr. Sidney Wolfe, the group's director, also asserted that propoxyphene was a relatively weak painkiller and posed an unacceptable toxic risk to millions of patients prescribed it each year.
In January 2009, an FDA advisory panel narrowly voted 14-12 to recommend that the FDA remove Darvon and similar products from the market. Rather than heed the advice of its advisory panel, the FDA decided to permit continued marketing of Darvocet and other propoxyphene products, but required that a new boxed warning be added to the drug label alerting patients and health care professionals to the risk of a fatal overdose. While the new warning did not include mention of heart rhythm problems, the agency required Xanodyne to conduct a new safety study assessing unanswered questions about the effects of propoxyphene on the heart.
Ultimately, that study found that even when taken at recommended doses, propoxyphene causes significant changes to the electrical activity of the heart. These changes, which can be seen on an electrocardiogram (ECG), can increase the risk for serious abnormal heart rhythms that have been linked to serious adverse effects, including sudden death. In a memo posted on the FDA's website, the agency said it is not possible to monitor for or mitigate the risk of a fatal cardiac arrhthmia that might occur at the recommended dose of propoxyphene. The study's findings prompted the FDA to ask that Darvocet, along with Darvon, be withdrawn from the market in 2010. The FDA also said it was asking the manufacturers of generic propoxyphene-containing products to remove those products from the market.
In calling for withdrawal of the drug, the FDA urged doctors to stop prescribing it immediately. But it advised patients to continue taking propoxyphene while consulting quickly with physicians to arrange for alternative medication.
At the time of the withdrawal many questioned why it had taken the FDA so long to act to protect patients from drugs like Darvocet, especially since there are many safer painkillers available. Dr. Sidney Wolf, who had called for a Darvocet ban in 2006, blasted the FDA's action as too late and called for congressional hearings into why the agency took so long to act.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
LEGAL HELP FOR VICTIMS OF DARVOCET INJURIES
Public Citizen's Health Research Group asked the FDA on February 28, 2006 to ban Darvon and Darvocet, two popular painkillers. Darvon and Darvocet have been associated with the deaths of at least 2,110 people between 1981 and 1999. Additionally, Public Citizen's Health Research Group said several hundred more people have died accidentally after taking the drugs each year since then. Dr. Sidney Wolfe, the group's director, said the main active ingredient in the drugs, propoxyphene, is a relatively weak painkiller and poses an unacceptable toxic risk to the millions of patients prescribed it each year. It's been sold since 1957. The drug's popularity has waned, but still doctors wrote 23 million prescriptions for propoyxphene-containing drugs last year. Darvocet, which combines propoxyphene with acetaminophen, is among the best known of these types of painkillers.
An analysis of 26 studies that compared propoxyphene and acetaminophen with just acetaminophen or a dummy pill found the "narcotic combination offered little benefit over acetaminophen alone" in treating pain. "Thus, propoxyphene provides minimal, if any, additional analgesia to acetaminophen alone and is associated with significant adverse effects. It cannot be recommended for routine use, "Dr. Carolyn Sachs of the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote in her analysis, published in March 2005 in American Family Physician.
Co-proxamol, Britain's most frequently used drug, has been taken off the market due to concerns about the high risk of accidental death from slight overdose and its frequent use in suicides. Co-proxamol is prescribed to hundreds of thousands of people every year and has been the subject of a staggered withdrawal because of evidence that it can cause death if patients exceed the maximum recommended dosage by as little as two tablets. As many as 400 deaths a year are linked to either accidental or intentional overdoses of co-proxamol.
A recent study found that the medication, whose effects are increased by alcohol, was responsible for 18 percent of all drug-related deaths and 5 percent of all suicides. As of late 1997, it was the second most prescribed drug after the antibiotic, amoxicillin. It is currently marketed by several pharmaceutical companies as co-proxamol and it is also sold under the brand names Distalgesic, Cosalgesic and Dolgesic. In the United States, the drug is sold under the names Darvocet and Darvon.
CONTACT US
Davis & Crump is now handling claims for individuals who have been injured by Darvocet or Darvon. Davis & Crump is experienced in pharmaceutical product liability cases and settlements. If you or a loved one has been injured by Darvocet or Darvon, contact us at 1-800-277-0300 or send us an email at info@daviscrump.com.