With so many drugs on pharmacy shelves, many adverse events occur leaving uninformed consumers in danger.  According to the Los Angeles Daily Journal, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments “in a case that asks the court to determine when companies and their lawyers should craft disclosures about adverse event reports.” 

This current issue stems from an incident involving Matrixx Initiatives Inc.  According to plaintiffs,  the company hid the fact that their cold medication, Zicam, caused insomnia.  Lawsuits totaling $15.5 million have recently been settled by Matrixx involving 2,231 people who claimed that they lost their sense of taste and/or smell following their use of Zicam. 

In 2009, Matrixx recalled intranasal versions of Zicam following the FDA’s warning to consumers about Zicam’s association with insomnia.  Opponents state that pharmaceutical companies receive information about their products continuously and that the FDA’s mandated clinical trials do an efficient job of testing the safety of a product.