Besides, according the company's January 2006, SEC filing, Matrixx expects about 40% of the $12 million to be covered by insurance.
However, the settlement does not cover all lawsuits filed against Matrixx. About two dozen are still pending involving Zicam nasal swabs, as are 32 lawsuits filed outside of Arizona. And, it has not slowed Zicam users from filing new personal injury claims against Matrixx.
According to the FDA adverse-event database, in 2004, there were 133 adverse reaction reports on users of Zicam products. Most of the complaints involved the nasal gel and the loss of smell. However, because smell heavily influences taste, people often report a loss of taste along with the loss of smell.
Because these products are not required to prove efficacy, not surprisingly, studies have shown that zinc nasal sprays are pretty much ineffective. While two placebo-controlled trials showed that intranasal zinc gluconate modestly shortened the duration of cold symptoms, 2 other studies found the product provided no benefits.
In any event, never mind the lawsuits, the company recently came under the scrutiny of a much larger predator. On March 21, 2006, Matrixx received a letter from the Federal Trade Commission's East Central Region Office in Cleveland, Ohio, notifying the company that the FTC is conducting an inquiry into the company's advertising and promotional activities for the following products: Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel; Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs; Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs for Kids; Zicam Cold Remedy RapidMelts; Zicam Cold Remedy Chewables; and Zicam Cold Remedy Oral Mist.
The purpose of the inquiry, according to the company?s April 2006, SEC filing, is to determine whether Matrixx engaged in "unfair or deceptive acts or practices" in violation of the FTC Act. The agency has requested that the firm provide certain information by April 27, 2006.
Matrixx says it is cooperating fully and believes that its advertisements and promotional activities are accurate and comply with ?laws and regulations in all material respects.?
In another interesting turn of events, on November 23, 2005, the FDA sent Charles Hensley, co-inventers and patent holder of Zicam, a letter about another one of his other products called Vira 38, which he apparently was marketing on a web site as an effective means of treating influenza, bird flu and SARS.
The FDA informed Hensley that by selling an unapproved drug, he was violating federal law, and basically, told him to knock it off or he could face legal action including the "seizure of illegal products."
Some ear, nose and throat specialists say the problem with Zicam is that the force of the spray bottle propels the product too high into the nose where it comes in contact with the tissue containing the olfactory nerve. No doubt with this in mind, last year, Matrixx developed a new "control tip" for the bottle that is supposed to prevent the gel from reaching this sensitive area of the nose.
At about the same time the new tip was announced, Matrixx launched a major advertising campaign featuring testimonials from product users, including one presumably aimed at drug addicts, by none other than radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, the old prescription drug-fiend himself.
Which means its probably safe to predict that sales may increase among coke heads, or other illicit drug snorters, with little danger of potential lawsuits being filed by a group of consumers who can't smell that well to begin with.
More information for injured parties can be found at Lawyers and Settlements.com
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/zicam.html
By Evelyn Pringle
However, the settlement does not cover all lawsuits filed against Matrixx. About two dozen are still pending involving Zicam nasal swabs, as are 32 lawsuits filed outside of Arizona. And, it has not slowed Zicam users from filing new personal injury claims against Matrixx.
According to the FDA adverse-event database, in 2004, there were 133 adverse reaction reports on users of Zicam products. Most of the complaints involved the nasal gel and the loss of smell. However, because smell heavily influences taste, people often report a loss of taste along with the loss of smell.
Because these products are not required to prove efficacy, not surprisingly, studies have shown that zinc nasal sprays are pretty much ineffective. While two placebo-controlled trials showed that intranasal zinc gluconate modestly shortened the duration of cold symptoms, 2 other studies found the product provided no benefits.
The purpose of the inquiry, according to the company?s April 2006, SEC filing, is to determine whether Matrixx engaged in "unfair or deceptive acts or practices" in violation of the FTC Act. The agency has requested that the firm provide certain information by April 27, 2006.
Matrixx says it is cooperating fully and believes that its advertisements and promotional activities are accurate and comply with ?laws and regulations in all material respects.?
In another interesting turn of events, on November 23, 2005, the FDA sent Charles Hensley, co-inventers and patent holder of Zicam, a letter about another one of his other products called Vira 38, which he apparently was marketing on a web site as an effective means of treating influenza, bird flu and SARS.
The FDA informed Hensley that by selling an unapproved drug, he was violating federal law, and basically, told him to knock it off or he could face legal action including the "seizure of illegal products."
Some ear, nose and throat specialists say the problem with Zicam is that the force of the spray bottle propels the product too high into the nose where it comes in contact with the tissue containing the olfactory nerve. No doubt with this in mind, last year, Matrixx developed a new "control tip" for the bottle that is supposed to prevent the gel from reaching this sensitive area of the nose.
At about the same time the new tip was announced, Matrixx launched a major advertising campaign featuring testimonials from product users, including one presumably aimed at drug addicts, by none other than radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, the old prescription drug-fiend himself.
Which means its probably safe to predict that sales may increase among coke heads, or other illicit drug snorters, with little danger of potential lawsuits being filed by a group of consumers who can't smell that well to begin with.
More information for injured parties can be found at Lawyers and Settlements.com
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/zicam.html
By Evelyn Pringle
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