The Law Med Blog is tracking a number of Anesthesia Drug Shortage issues. Get the latest FDA info here.

• Where Has All the Propofol Gone? January 16, 2012  By Kurt Stone OpEdNews.com Propofol -- one of the drugs that led to Michael Jackson's untimely death -- is a short-acting, intravenously administered hypnotic agent. Known in some circles as "Milk of Amnesia," its uses include the induction and mainten...
• Company Increases Availabillity Of Propofol October 18, 2011  APP Pharmaceuticals increases Propofol production. From Pharmaceutical Business Review  APP Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Fresenius Kabi Pharmaceuticals, has increased the availability of its drugs including APP Diprivan (propofol 1%) and APP Prop...
• Juries Slap Propofol Companies With Over $280M Damages In Hep C Cases October 15, 2011 Two separate juries have levied a combined total of over $250 Million in punitive damages for 5 plaintiffs in two separate trials. The plaintiffs were suing after they contracted Hepatitis C from what their lawyers argued was contaminated propofol. The de...
• Discontinuation of Pentothal Leads to Historic Videotaped Execution July 25, 2011 For the first time in history, a lethal injection execution has been videotaped. And it is all because the anesthetic sodium thiopental (Pentothal) is no longer manufactured. The Georgia Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court has let stand a Fulton County, ...
• Teva Wins HUGE In Propofol Case Credit U.S. Supreme Court June 24, 2011 It has been over a year since we told you about a jury verdict in Nevada against Teva Pharmaceuticals a while ago that cost them $500 Million Dollars. The case involved a Nevada resident who contracted Hepatitis C allegedly from contaminated propofol, the...
• Anesthesia Drug Propofol Shortage Update June 10, 2011 Shortages of the anesthesia drug propofol are lessening, with APP Pharmaceuticals notifying health care providers that their supplies are now available from all of their distributors. Hospira reports that  higher than anticipated demand continues to caus...
• Hospira Resumes Propofol Manufacturing April 29, 2011 From the FDA Drug Shortage website, updated 4/22/11: Hospira states their 2009 recall has been resolved and they are following FDA recommendations for good manufacturing practices. The company has their 20 mL and 50 mL presentations on intermittent back ...
• Inmates Sue FDA Over Death Penalty Drug Shortage February 11, 2011 Death Penalty Drug: Death Row Inmates Sue FDA A FindLaw Blog post While there are many arguments in the death penalty debate, our duty as a nation is to make sure that the process remains humane. The Food and Drug Administration, however, may have...
• Anesthesia Drug Shortages Serious Threat to Patients February 3, 2011 We have covered the shortages of propofol, sodium thiopental (pentothal), vecuronium and other popular drugs in anesthesia at length. Manufacturing difficulties from contamination, large jury verdicts and the practice of capital punishment in the US have�...
• Law Med Blog Launches Anesthesia Drug Shortage Page February 3, 2011 Given the serious and ongoing shortage of certain anesthesia drugs, the Law med Blog has launched a special page which is a repository of all of our coverage on the subject. Find it at http://lawmedconsultant.com/anesthesia-drug-shortage...
• Hospira Ceases Sodium Thiopental Production: Executions In Jeopardy January 23, 2011 We have previously reported on the problems over at Hospira Pharmaceuticals which led to propofol recalls and disruption of sodium thiopental production, the anesthetic used to execute people. It just got worse...again. For Want of a Drug...
• Read The DEA Supporting Documents For Control Of Propofol November 17, 2010 DEA Basis for Propofol Control ...
• Propofol To Become Schedule IV Controlled Drug November 11, 2010 Propofol, the most common agent used in the induction of general anesthesia, and the drug implicated in the death of Michael Jackson, will be added to the DEA's list of controlled substances with a Schedule IV designation early next year. On October 27...
• Arizona Proceeds With Execution Using Foreign Made Pentathol November 3, 2010 We previously reported on California's Supreme Court blocking an execution due to sodium pentathol production shortages and now the first case has come before the Supreme Court asking whether non-FDA approved formulations of the drug can be used. With the...
• CA Supreme Court Blocks Execution: Delayed Due To Sodium Pentothol Shortage September 30, 2010 Albert Greenwood Brown was to be executed today, one day before the California prisons supply of Sodium Pentothol was set to expire. Brown has been in a lengthy legal battle with California over the current 3 drug combination (Pentothol, Curare and Potass...
• Sodium Thiopental Shortage Delays Executions in Several States August 28, 2010 Anesthetic drug shortage sidelines lethal injections By Jessie Halladay • jhalladay@courier-journal.com • August 27, 2010 A nationwide shortage of several anesthesia drugs has left Kentucky and several other states scrambling to find enoug...
• Dr. Murray's Preliminary Hearing Delayed: Res Ipsa Loquitur August 25, 2010 Judge Michael Pastor said he "wanted to expedite" the case, but has delayed the preliminary hearing for Dr. Conrad Murray, charged in Michael Jackson's death, until early next year. The prosecution claims they need more time for investigation and that som...
• FDA Article on the Propofol Shortage Appears in NEJM June 17, 2010 Here is an article that is authored by FDA officials on the continuing propofol shortage which appears in the New England Journal of Medicine. NEJM FDA article on the Propofol Shortage ...
• Indictments of Dr. Desai and CRNAs Follows $500 Million Award to Hepatitis C Victim June 5, 2010 We previously reported on the record breaking $500 million jury award for Henry Chanin, who contracted Hepatitis C from improper injection of the drug after it had been used on another patient. Teva and Baxter, both pharmaceutical companies were on the ho...
• Hospira Expands Propofol Recall: Shortage Worsens June 1, 2010 Only days after we reported on Teva withdrawing from the propofol manufacturing business, the only remaining US manufacturer of propofol expands a recall of the product. Hospira Pharmaceuticals had previously announced a recall in March of 2010 of certain...
• Teva Abandons Propofol: Drug Shortage Continues…NOW WHAT? May 28, 2010 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has informed the FDA they will no longer manufacture propofol.....and a shortage already exists. Huge Lawsuit Damages, Poor Manufacturing Quality Control, FDA Warnings to shape up their manufacturing plant or face closure, a...
• Attorney Seeks $1 Billion In Punitive Damages In Hep C Propofol Trial May 6, 2010 The attorney for the lead plaintiff in the case against two drug companies found liable for a Las Vegas man’s hepatitis C infection asked jurors Thursday to award more than $1 billion in punitive damages, saying their verdict should make a statement a...
• Plaintiff Awarded More Than $500m In Propofol Hepatitis C Lawsuit May 6, 2010 Jurors in a Las Vegas courtroom held Teva and Baxter pharmaceuticals responsible for Henry Chanin, 62, having contracted Hepatitis C from contaminated propofol, an anesthetic that both companies distribute. Chanin sued Teva Parenteral Medicines Inc. an...