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Responsibility of pharmaceutical companies to manage drug safety

On Behalf of | Oct 16, 2017 | blog

Prescription medication users in Texas should know that all drugs come with certain side effects. The pharmaceutical companies who manufacture these medications are responsible for communicating all possible negative consequences of taking their drugs. Healthcare providers also need to have this information so they can prescribe the proper meds for their patients.

According to FindLaw, there are a number of factors involved in regard to drug liability. While the manufacturer can be found to be liable in the case of drug injury, other parties who may be responsible include the prescribing doctor, the pharmacist or the healthcare worker who was in charge of explaining proper use of the drug. Situations in which there was a long time lapse between the time the drug was taken and the detrimental effects can be hard to prove. Also, even though some medications may not be able to be manufactured completely safe, the benefits of taking them may outweigh the risks. If the drug maker makes this information known and includes the proper warning, they are often exempt from liability. 

Drug manufacturers have a duty to warn users if and when new complications are discovered. For example, the FDA shows how this may occur in the case of the drug Invokana, also known as canagliflozin. After it was approved by the FDA, the results of two clinical trials showed that use of the drug doubled the chances of leg and foot amputations compared to those who took a placebo. As a result, the pharmaceutical company is now required to update their warnings on the product. These warnings help both patients and their doctors, who should weigh additional risk factors before recommending the drug to their patients.