Re: 12/21/05 - [MTXX] Parker & Waichman, LLP Files Suit Against Matrixx Initiatives, Inc...; Injured by Zicam?; Federal Lawsuit Refocuses Attention on Serious Risks Posed by Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel
Parker & Waichman, LLP Files Suit Against Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., Zicam, LLC and Botanical Laboratories, Inc. on Behalf of Victim of Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel -- MTXX
Wednesday December 21, 8:32 am ET
Victim Suffered Loss of Senses of Smell and Taste After Using Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel to Treat Symptoms of Common Cold
NEW YORK, Dec. 21, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Parker & Waichman, LLP (http://www.yourlawyer.com) announced that it has filed suit against Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. (NasdaqNM:MTXX - News), Zicam, LLC and Botanical Laboratories, Inc. on behalf of a victim who lost her senses of smell and taste after using Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Shreveport, Louisiana. For more information on Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, please visit yourlawyer.com.
In December 2003, the Plaintiff began using Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel to relieve symptoms of the common cold. After using the Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel as directed by the product's label, the victim began to experience a loss of her senses of smell and taste. She has never regained these senses completely. The victim has seen physicians who have diagnosed her as having sustained a partial loss of the senses of smell and taste. She continues to suffer from the loss of these two critical senses, and will likely continue to suffer from these injuries for the remainder of her life. The loss of the ability to smell is particularly dangerous because victims are often unable to detect fires, poisonous fumes and leaking gas.
``Despite numerous reports that Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel causes Anosmia, Matrixx continues to market this product at the expense of consumers' health,'' commented Jerrold S. Parker, managing partner of Parker & Waichman, LLP. ``Furthermore, there is little evidence to suggest that Zicam is effective at relieving the symptoms of the common cold. Because the product has few benefits and poses major health risks, Matrixx should promptly remove it from the market.''
The Defendants include Matrixx (the successor corporation to Gumtech International, Inc.), Zicam (the successor limited liability company to Gel Tech, LLC) and Botanical Laboratories, Inc. Botanical Laboratories, Inc. manufactured and packaged Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel for sale and distribution by Matrixx and/or Zicam. The suit alleges that the product label, promotional materials and advertisements used in conjunction with the sale of Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel did not provide sufficient warnings and instructions about the risks and adverse side affects associated with the use of the product.
Defendants Matrixx and Zicam market Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel as a remedy for the common cold. They claim it has been developed to reduce the severity and duration of the common cold. Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel has never been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for safety or efficacy. It is estimated that the FDA has received hundreds of complaints about the Zicam spray, and additional complaints about a similar product called Cold-Eeze. In 2004, the FDA confirmed that it is investigating the link between zinc nasal sprays and the loss of smell. Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel contains divalent ionized zinc in the form of zinc gluconate, which is listed as the product's active ingredient under the trade name of ``zincum gluconium 2x.'' Zinc gluconate contains a divalent zinc ion. Zinc gluconate is a chemical compound characterized as a ``zinc salt.'' If used as directed, the Zicam Cold Remedy nasal pump delivers the Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel containing zinc gluconate to the user's nasal membranes.
About Parker & Waichman, LLP
Parker & Waichman, LLP is a leading products liability and personal injury law firm that represents plaintiffs nationwide, with offices in New York and New Jersey. Parker & Waichman, LLP has assisted thousands of clients in receiving fair compensation for injuries resulting from defective medications and medical devices. For more information on Parker & Waichman, LLP, please visit: (http://www.yourlawyer.com) or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at primezone.com.
Contact:
Parker & Waichman, LLP
Jason Mark, Esq.
Melanie H. Muhlstock, Esq.
(800) LAW-INFO
(800) 529-4636
info@yourlawyer.com
www.yourlawyer.com
=====
Injured by Zicam?
Zicam, the popular Zinc nasal cold gel, has been linked to a condition known as Anosmia. Anosmics cannot detect scents or smells of any kind, and the loss of smell greatly reduces the sense of taste. In addition to not being able to taste food, Anosmia is a dangerous condition, as the sense of smell and taste alert people to fires, poisonous fumes, and leaking gas.
Zicam is an intranasal zinc solution. Intranasal zinc has been known to kill the ability to smell by both animals and people for many years. For years there had been no use of intranasal zinc in humans. However because Zinc products fall under the homeopathic provision of FDA laws, these products are not required to get FDA approval before they hit the market.
For this reason it is not surprising that studies have shown that Zinc nasal cold sprays and gels, like Zicam, not only have dangerous side effects but are ineffective against the colds. While two placebo-controlled trials found that intranasal zinc gluconate modestly shortened the duration of cold symptoms two other placebo-controlled studies found intranasal zinc to be of no benefit.
In the most rigorously controlled of these studies, intranasal zinc gluconate did not affect the severity or duration of cold symptoms in volunteers inoculated with rhinovirus, a common cause of colds. These studies did find evidence of anosmia and warned about the condition. The reports stated that since zinc-associated anosmia may be irreversible, intranasal zinc preparations should be avoided.
How Zicam Anosmia Affects your Taste
Taste and smell are very strongly linked. You can smell without tasting, but your taste is greatly affected if you cannot smell. Opening your nostrils allows food vapor to flow to reach your olfactory epithelium. The flavor of food is a combination of its temperature, its texture (that means how it feels inside the mouth), its appearance, its taste (meaning salty, bitter, sour, or sweet) and its aroma as perceived by the sense of smell. The sense of smell plays a major role in the flavor of foods and it is common for individuals who lose their sense of smell to report that food loses its taste. While technically loosing your sense of smell does not mean you loose your taste, it does mean you loose your ability to detect and enjoy flavor.
Zicam is manufactured by Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. Matrixx Initiatives produces, markets and sells Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel, Zicam Allergy Relief nasal gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Zicam Kids Size Cold Remedy Swabs, Zicam Extreme Congestion Relief, Zicam Sinus Relief, and Zicam Nasal Moisturizer.
yourlawyer.com
=====
Federal Lawsuit Refocuses Attention on Serious Risks Posed by Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel
Dec 21, 2005 | www.Newsinferno.com
As far back as the late 1930s, intranasal zinc sulfate solutions were used to prevent polio. The products were removed from the market because they proved unsuccessful and due to that some users suffered a loss of smell. Since that time, a number of medical researchers have claimed there is a link between products containing zinc and possible nerve damage.
Neurotoxins act specifically on nerve cells (neurons) usually by interacting with membrane proteins and ion channels. Environmental neurotoxins are known as exogenous and include gases (carbon monoxide), metals (mercury, lead, zinc), liquids (ethanol) and a multitude of solids. When exogenous toxins are taken in, the effect on neurons is largely dependent on dosage and duration.
Of course, since the senses of smell and taste (like the other senses) rely on a sophisticated network of neurological processes, any neurotoxin has the potential to interfere with or even damage or destroy them.
It is because of these facts that there a serious controversy over the safety of over-the-counter (OTC) zinc-based, homeopathic medications like Zicam that claim to shorten the duration of the common cold.
The maker, marketer, and seller of Zicam (R) Cold remedy nasal gel, Zicam, LLC (a wholly owned subsidiary of Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. an OTC drug developer, manufacturer, and marketer) has steadfastly defended its product as being safe.
Only last year, in a press release, Matrixx claimed that any reports alleging anosmia (loss of smell) associated with Zicam(R) Cold Remedy zinc products “are completely unfounded and misleading.”
Matrixx asserted that any research linking nasal products containing zinc to the onset o f anosmia were erroneous because the compound found in the 1930s products was concentrated zinc sulfate as opposed to the zinc gluconate found in Zicam. Zinc sulfate “is a mineral salt that reacts with water to produce a strong acid (sulfuric acid) and zinc oxide,” while “zinc gluconate is a weak organic salt that dissolves to form positively charged zinc ions and negatively charged gluconate, a naturally occurring, non-toxic compound found in all human tissue.”
Unfortunately, the FDA does not test cold remedies containing soluble zinc for safety or efficacy and, thus, it was not until late 2004 that the agency only began to take notice that there might be a serious risk posed by the products.
By that time, however, researchers at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Taste and Smell clinic had already documented the loss of smell among Zicam users for over a year. In addition, a number of lawsuits had been commenced around the U.S. alleging anosmia as an injury that could occur with as little as one application of the Zicam nasal gel.
The problem had also been presented for discussion at the September 2003 meeting of the American Rhinologic Society. Clearly, there was much more to this than the simple denial issued by Matrixx.
Now, a major plaintiffs’ personal injury firm has announced it has filed suit against Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. Zicam, LLC, and Botanical Laboratories, Inc., on behalf of a woman who claims to have lost her senses of smell and taste after using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Shreveport, Louisiana, by Parker & Waichman, a New York based firm that is heavily involved in pharmaceutical litigation throughout the country.
The suit alleges that in December 2003, the plaintiff began using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel to relieve her cold symptoms. After using the product as directed, however, she began to experience a loss of her sense of smell and her sense of taste and has never regained these senses completely. She has been diagnosed as having a permanent partial loss of the senses of smell and taste.
The loss of the senses of smell and taster can have very serious consequences aside from the obvious loss of the enjoyment and pleasure associated with the exercise of those senses. Danger areas documented by studies of people suffering from the loss of these senses include: cooking related accidents; exposure to undetected fires, smoke, or gas leaks; eating spoiled foods or toxic substances; and other situations where either of the senses is a primary method of detection of sensory information.
In addition, the loss of these senses can cause collateral damages such as to anyone engaged in a profession where smell or taste is a critical requirement (chef; taste tester; cosmetics and perfume industry; wine, beer, or spirits industry).
Jerrold Parker, managing partner of Parker & Waichman stated: “Despite numerous reports that Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel causes anosmia, Matrixx continues to market this product at the expense of consumers’ health. Furthermore, there is little evidence to suggest that Zicam is effective at relieving the symptoms of the common cold. Because the product has few benefits and poses major health risks, Matrixx should promptly remove it from the market.”
In addition to alleging the dangerous nature of the zinc-based gel itself, the lawsuit claims the product label, promotional materials, and advertisements used in conjunction with the sale of Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel did not provide sufficient warning and instructions about the risks and adverse side affects associated with the use of the product.
yourlawyer.com
Source: Parker & Waichman Attorneys at Law |
