The announcedsettlement of the Vioxx litigationshows the weakness of the plaintiffs' claims and the weaknesses of the current pharmaceutical product liability law.

For at least four decades Colombia has been synonymous with the costly war against narcotics. But a different kind of drug war brought me to Bogotá - the fight against counterfeit and substandard pharmaceuticals.

OxyContin, which offers relief to patients with searing, prolonged agony due to diseases such as cancer, neurological illness and degenerative discs, is getting a bad rap.

Cost consideration must be internalized at the point of care by patients and doctors with a stake in the price, as well as the outcome.

Spending a trillion dollars might jump-start the economy--but at the price of damaging not only the nation's balance sheet, but also our constitutional system.

If the Food and Drug Administration's policy stands, cancer patients will have to wait many more years to get access to new drugs, and they will have fewer options in the process.

OxyContin, the potent prescription painkiller, is in the spotlight.

Patients would be better off if the FDA focused on unearthing information to help doctors determine which pills will perform the best for each individual patient.