By: Darrell Castle Does Pfizer, the drug manufacturer, care more about money than the well-being of Lipitor users? That question could be argued for many drug manufacturers, and Pfizer’s most recent actions could help make that argument. Lipitor, which is Pfizer’s hallmark drug, has made it billions of billions of dollars since being introduced in 1997. The drug was originally developed by Warner-Lambert with Pfizer agreeing to partner and bring it marketing success in exchange for a portion of its annual revenue. Warner-Lambert estimates had annual sales of Lipitor peaking at $500 million. However, in its first year, Lipitor far-surpassed those peaking estimates and brought in annual sales of $865 million. Then the next year, $2.2 billion. In 2000, Pfizer
By: Darrell Castle Have you ever wondered what happens when you “go under” in the operating room? In Weston, Virginia, a man found out. (Learn everything you need to know about medical malpractice! Click here to download my FREE report — Medical Malpractice 101 — from my website) The patient — who requested to remain anonymous — wanted to record the doctor’s post-operation instructions. But he ended up accidentally recording the entire procedure. And what he found was pretty disturbing. He discovered the doctor and the rest of the surgical team insulting and mocking him once he fell asleep. “After five minutes of talking to you in pre-op, I wanted to punch you in the face and man
(**Update** As of October 5, 2012, Shelby County dropped this proposal due to local demand.) If you’ve been trying to cut costs by taking care of your own trash, you may need to reconfigure your budget. Shelby County trash collection service may become mandatory soon, at a cost of $25/month. The proposal would make every resident pay for garbage pickup. It doesn’t matter if you’ve always been responsible with your waste. It doesn’t matter if you’re single, live alone, and produce one trash bag every 2 months. A lot of Memphians see this as a $300/year tax, paid directly to MLGW in your monthly bill. The county argues the proposal will help cut down on illegal dumping, but many residents
General Motors has issued another recall, making it over 20 million car recalled for the year. By: Darrell Castle General Motors has recalled another 3 million vehicles around the world this week. This has become somewhat of a monthly bulletin announcement for the massive car company as this brings the total amount of GM recalls to over 20 million for the year. This recall can be attributed to the infamous faulty ignition switch crisis that’s been linked to eight crashes and six injuries. This recall covers cars from model years 2000 to 2014. Due to the size of the hole on the key, extra weight can be added to the keychain, causing it to jostle the ignition. This can result
Bloomberg reported last week on October 31st that Potiga, a GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK)’s anti-seizure drug, has received a black-box warning in the US with risks that include potential vision loss. This warning is the most serious that the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues. This label comes revised after the FDA flagged these risks back in April. Risks include abnormalities in the eye, vision loss and skin discoloration. Any of these risks can become permanent according to the FDA. Potiga accounted for 7 million pounds of Glaxo’s sales last year and is projected to bring in 39.5 million pounds this year according to Bloomberg’s analysts estimates. This means there is an increased chance for more Potiga users to encounter
The following drugs and medical devices were recalled in April, either voluntarily by the manufacturer or forcibly by the FDA. Cyanocobalamin Injection: Used to treat B12 deficiency, this recall by manufacturer American Regent only applies to Lot # 1662, Lot # 1679, and Lot # 1683. Epinephrine Injection Used for a variety of purposes, this drug is also made by American Regent; recalled because of discoloration and small visible particles found. Regards only Lot #1395. Morphine Sulfate Injection: Recalled because of reports that the pre-filled syringe holds more than a safely prescribed amount. As an opioid pain medication, morphine can be fatal if overdosed. X-ROCK Intended as a dietary supplement to support male sexual performance, X-ROCK for men has been
As a bankruptcy lawyer in Memphis, I know a lot of people who come to see me are worried about their privacy, especially in the case of a foreclosure. Will a foreclosure be embarrassing? Will everyone know about it? First off, foreclosures are public record in Memphis, which means other people can find out about them. If there’s no evidence around your house that it’s being foreclosed, people might have to look up the information through the courts. It’s not likely they’d ever do that, so at that point in the process your situation would probably remain relatively private. However, over time certain things will happen as part of the foreclosure process that will make it more obvious you’re facing
The news looks great: Over the last year in Memphis and Shelby County, foreclosures are down 23% from the same point in 2015.* This adds to an overall trend since the worst days of the recession. Foreclosures in Memphis are going down, and that’s a great thing. But there’s a little more to the story: The recession hit Memphis hard. At the end of 2008, Memphis had 3,925 homes in foreclosure inventory (foreclosed but not resold yet). One subdivision in Cordova – the Countrywood South subdivision – had 9 foreclosures in 2009. Almost anything would be great in comparison to those numbers. As of July 2016, there were 2,070 homes foreclosed and not yet resold in Memphis. But that’s only mid-way through
A recent Forbes article described student loan debt as both the best and worst debt you can have, and what they said made a lot of sense (as you’d think it would being Forbes and all). How can student loan debt be good? Well, when it improves your financial future. Money for education is an investment, and just like in business, your financial success depends on your return on investment (or ROI). On average, according to the US Department of Education, getting a college degree will see your initial earnings jump at least 25% compared to only earning a high school diploma. However, when talking ROI, you need to look at how much money you’re taking out from student loans
Credit card debt isn’t just on the rise. It’s reached the point where the average person may never pay it back. As Memphis Business Journal reports: The average indebted household’s balance is projected at $7,813 by year end, the highest amount since the recession and $615 below the tipping point CardHub identifies as being unsustainable. That means almost every American family with any credit card debt at all is at the breaking point. Think about that. We’re talking about millions and millions of families unable to pay off their debt. We’re talking more than $900 billon owed to companies that might never be paid. That’s a terrible situation for those families, and also for American businesses. But as I discussed last