Strkyer Corporation has filed a lawsuit against the federal government and HHS over a subpoena they received concerning their marketing practices. The lawsuit contends that Stryker should not have to comply with the subpoena because they had negotiated a settlement with the government regarding medical device company kickbacks whereby the company would pay doctors to use their knee and hip implant devices.
Stryker Corporation has been sued for the faulty design of its Trident PSL and Trident Hemispherical Acetabular Cups used in hip replacement surgery. These devices have been recalled by the company.

Pfizer’s cholesterol drug Lipitor has a new ad and a new pitchman. The old ad and pitchman were taken off the air last year after Dr. Robert Jarvik’s expertise were called into question. Critics panned the old ad as misleading since Jarvik has never been a practicing physician. His fame is the result of developing the artificial heart.
The new ad emphasizes experience over notoriety by using an ordinary baby boomer pitchman who actually has had a heart attack and was supposedly told by his physician that he should have been doing more prior to his heart attack to lower his cholesterol. In one part of the ad the ptichman states, “I trust my heart to Lipitor.”
Lipitor, the world’s best-selling prescription drug, is a so-called statin drug that is typically taken once daily to block an enzyme in the liver that helps make cholesterol. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Lipitor 12 years ago.
The potential side effects of LIpitor is presented subtlely in a voiceover. The ad shows the ordinary man with his family in active scenes. Of course, the ad is a direct to consumer marketing piece that still plays on the emotions rather than science.

As retailers begin to ramp up for the upcoming holiday season the Consumer Product Safety Commission has worked in conjunction with manufacturers to recall nearly 200,000 toys. Thos toys named in the recall are:
118,000 Wooden Infant Toys—Wooden Puzzles, Infant Rattles, Pacifier Holders, and Stroller Toys
44,000 Regal Lager Phil & Ted’s e3 Single Buggy, e3 Twin Buggy, and Sport v1 Single Buggy Strollers
43,000 Children’s Hooded Sweatshirts and Jackets, which were made in China, have been recalled by Orioxi International Corp.
The wooden infant toys pose a choking hazard because they contain items that can detach and children can put in their mouths and choke. The strollers’ hinge locking systems poses a laceration hazard when folding or unfolding the stroller. The Chinese hooded sweatshirts all have a drawstring through the hood which poses a strangulation hazard especially to small children.