Weekly Mass Torts Bulletin 2023-February-20

According to a new study, opioid addiction could be reduced by developing medicines that block the kappa-opioid receptor.

However, finding medications that can inhibit the action of a protein, such as the kappa-opioid receptor, can be a time- and money-consuming procedure, as screening billions of chemical molecules can take months.

Opioids are a class of drugs used to treat moderate to severe pain. It can be made in a laboratory or from the opium poppy plant. They obstruct the transmission of pain signals by binding to opioid receptors on nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord, gastrointestinal tract, and other bodily organs.

A researcher is using artificial intelligence to speed up the process (AI). She is using computational approaches to improve its efficacy. Similar tests are being carried out by Canadian researchers in Alberta. In light of the nation's escalating drug overdose crisis, academics are experimenting with artificial intelligence to calculate the risks linked with prescription opioids.

According to a University of Alberta researcher, machine learning might be more successful at identifying people who are most susceptible. Because of the AI-assisted approach, physicians may have more peace of mind knowing there are additional tools they can use to guarantee the patient receives the necessary prescription at the right time.

Opioid use disorder affects over 30 lakh Americans. Overdoses kill 80,000 people each year. Oxycodone, morphine, fentanyl, and heroin all bind to opioid receptors.

Mu-opioid receptor activation causes euphoria and pain alleviation, as well as physical dependence and reduced breathing, both of which can lead to a drug overdose death. According to preliminary research, inhibiting kappa-opioid receptors might be an effective pharmacological strategy for treating opioid addiction.

According to the study, persons who try to quit will ultimately suffer withdrawal symptoms, which can be difficult to overcome. When patients are exposed to opioids on a regular basis, their brains are rewired to demand more medications. It has been proven in animal models that inhibiting the activation of the kappa opioid receptor reduces the need for medication use during the withdrawal phase.

According to the study, the benefit of artificial intelligence is that it can learn to find patterns from massive volumes of data. Machine learning can help in the creation of innovative pharmaceuticals from scratch by employing knowledge obtained from huge chemical databases. By doing so, it may be able to reduce the time and cost associated with medicine development.

According to a researcher at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, once machine learning is integrated into the healthcare system, it might be a beneficial tool for reducing hospital stays and morbidity for patients. Sometimes current tools cannot pinpoint the sources of danger, and medical interventions may include more than merely decreasing a patient's opioid dose.

GSK, which is facing tens of thousands of lawsuits over cancer risks associated with the popular heartburn treatment Zantac, has stated that there is no consistent or credible evidence that the medicine causes cancer, but a new analysis from GSK's own experts says otherwise.

According to the article, GSK was informed by its own experts and independent researchers about potential cancer-causing contaminants in the medicine for decades. The FDA examined the hazards when reviewing the medicine, yet Zantac, or ranitidine, was authorized in 1983.

According to the study, GSK backed erroneous studies aimed at downplaying dangers throughout the years, and it chose not to make any modifications to its supply chain or storage methods that may have minimized the problem. The study is hundreds of pages long and contains judicial files and analyses.

A GSK spokesman stated that after three years of thorough research, there is no consistent or trustworthy evidence that Zantac (ranitidine) raises the risk of any kind of cancer.

Zantac came under intense public criticism in 2019 after an online pharmacy discovered excessive quantities of a possible carcinogen in the medicine and its generics. Following recalls, the FDA removed the medication from the market in 2020.

In doing so, the FDA stated that the level of the potential carcinogen, N-Nitrosodimethylamine, in the medicine grows even under normal storage circumstances. According to the FDA, greater temperatures worsen the problem. As per reports, GSK's leadership was alerted of the storage issue multiple times, but it chose not to adjust its existing arrangements.

GSK and other drugmakers are currently facing tens of thousands of lawsuits related to the medicine. The corporations have said that the research does not support the plaintiffs' claims.

Late this year, a judge in Florida threw out a huge number of federal court proceedings filed against the corporations. The judge determined that the plaintiff's experts relied on untrustworthy methodology to achieve their results. GSK stated at the time that it was relieved that litigation-driven research did not enter the federal courts.

The United States District Judge hearing nearly 18,000 Bard hernia mesh cases has announced that a third case will be heard by a federal jury on May 15.

The judgment came after mixed outcomes in the first two bellwether trials, which were meant to assist the parties to evaluate how jurors would respond to particular evidence and testimony that would be repeated throughout the lawsuit.

Each lawsuit alleges that C.R. Bard sold a variety of polypropylene mesh products in recent years that were defectively designed and increased the risk of painful complications following hernia repair surgery, including the Bard Ventralight, Bard Ventralex, Bard Perfix, Bard 3DMax, and other similar mesh systems.

The plaintiffs claim they endured significant stomach discomfort, infections, adhesions, erosion, and other issues once the mesh failed, which frequently necessitated another surgery to remove the failed hernia patch.

Because the complaints raise similar issues of fact and law, the federal litigation has been centralized before the United States District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio since August 2018, where the parties have engaged in coordinated discovery in preparation for a series of early trial dates.

The first of four anticipated bellwether trials were held in August 2021, with a defense verdict for the hernia mesh maker. That trial was followed by a second trial in April 2022, which resulted in a $255,000 judgment.

A Bard hernia mesh lawsuit was heard by a Rhode Island state court jury in August 2022, resulting in a $4.8 million judgment for one plaintiff, sending a strong signal to the manufacturer about the level of responsibility it may face in some circumstances since each individual complaint is heard by a jury.

Later that month, the court overseeing the hernia mesh MDL appointed a Bard hernia mesh settlement master to engage with the parties to see whether an agreement could be reached to resolve significant numbers of claims before more bellwether trials were scheduled. However, the parties have not established a worldwide agreement.