Pharmaceutical manufacturer Actavis Totowa announced a voluntary recall of more than 65 generic drug products manufactured at its Little Falls, New Jersey, facility. The recall follows an inspection conducted by the Food & Drug Administration earlier this year, which revealed that operations at the New Jersey facility did not meet FDA standards.

A complaint was filed on behalf of Sue Gilmore Tatum and Ken Tatum Tuesday afternoon in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Alabama. The complaint alleges defendant Patrick Cumbie negligently ran the Runabout he was operating into plaintiff Sue Gilmore Tatum and into the pontoon boat on which she was a passenger.

In response to a number of recent reports of serious side effects associated with the stop-smoking medication Chantix, Beasley Allen has launched a web site that outlines the problems associated with the drug, manufactured by Pfizer. The web site, www.chantix-legal.com, provides information to help patients identify risks associated with Chantix.

Alabama Medicaid Commissioner Carol Steckel, chair of the Executive Committee of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors (NASMD), has issued a "national alert" memo to all state Medicaid agencies on the drug-pricing fraud cases filed in Alabama by Attorney General Troy King. Steckel is urging all of her fellow Medicaid directors to follow the Alabama cases for their nationwide impact on prescription drug prices.

On Friday, June 27th, the United States Supreme Court issued an order rejecting all further appeals of the $20,709,000 pollution verdict entered against the Continental Carbon plant in Phenix City, Alabama, and against its parent company, China Synthetic Rubber Corporation of Taiwan. 

On August 9 at 7:00 p.m. award-wining musicians Kim Hill and Ashley Cleveland will perform in concert at St. James United Methodist Church, followed by an inspirational message from Chette Williams, Auburn University football chaplain and noted speaker and author. All are invited to attend this phenomenal night of praise.

Merck & Co., manufacturer of Vioxx, announced it will make the first payment of $500 million on Aug. 6 into a fund to settle claims by plaintiffs injured by the drug. The settlement fund will eventually total $4.85 billion. By providing the funding for settlements, Merck waives its right to walk away from the settlement deal, originally established in May. More than 60,000 people currently have registered a claim that Vioxx caused heart attack or stroke. Payments to claimants will begin before the end of August.

Pharmaceutical company Merck says it will start cutting checks next month for former users of its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx. Merck announced plans today to fund the $4.8 billion settlement involving about 50,000 lawsuits.

MONTGOMERY, ALA. - After winning three cases against drug manufacturers, the State of Alabama has requested that the 69 companies in the remaining lawsuits be settled.  Initially, the State Medicaid Agency sued 72 drug manufacturers for falsely reporting reimbursement drug prices to the State.  Two companies settled with the State.  The three companies that have been tried have each been found guilty of fraudulent conduct by Montgomery County juries.

MONTGOMERY, ALA - Jere Beasley, founding shareholder of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., announced this morning Alabama Attorney General Troy King has put 69 pharmaceutical companies accused of defrauding Alabama's Medicaid system on notice they have 30 days to settle or be brought to trial.