Family members of a patient who fell into a coma after allegedly using a birth control patch yesterday warned the public about the side effects of the product, and urged the families of other possible victims to join them in a cross-nation lawsuit against the manufacturer.
Accompanied by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Huang Hsiang-chun (黃向群), a woman surnamed Lee said her sister slipped into a coma two years ago after using Ortho Eva, a birth control patch sold by a division of the US multinational Johnson & Johnson.
Lee said Ortho Eva caused blood clots in her sister’s brain, but the company has ignored the family’s demand that it take responsibility for her sister’s condition.
PHOTO: CNA
Huang said the US Food and Drug Administration has logged more than 9,000 reports of adverse reactions to the birth control patch over a 17-month period, and more than 6,000 class action lawsuits were filed around the world against the company over the matter.
Lee and her lawyer, Chiu Chang (邱彰), urged those who have suffered a similar fate to join them in seeking compensation from the company by jointly filing a class action lawsuit in the US.
Lee also accused the government of negligence in managing prescription drugs by allowing people to purchase the drugs easily in pharmacies.
“Ortho Eva is a prescription drug, but I bought a box from a pharmacy without being asked for a prescription. You can just walk in and buy it,” she said.
Chiang Yu-mei (姜郁美), director of Taipei City’s Food and Drug Division, said drugstores that sell prescription drugs without prescriptions would be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.
She said the division conducts frequent inspections of drug stores to check that prescription drugs were being sold legally. She said it would continue to monitor pharmacies to prevent sales without prescriptions.
Janssen-Cilag Taiwan, a division of Johnson & Johnson Taiwan, later yesterday issued a statement expressing regret over the case of Lee’s sister, but said that the birth control patch was safe to use under doctor’s prescription.
The company said it had no comment regarding the class action lawsuits against the company in the US.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS