Approved by the FDA in October 2010, Pradaxa is the first anticoagulant drug to be marketed in over half a century. Warfarin was approved for use in 1957 and despite its limitations has been used ever since. Both drugs are used in the treatment of atrial fibrillation which can lead to stroke.

After the 2010 national recall of defective DePuy ASR hip implants, it was discovered that Johnson & Johnson may have been aware of problems with the product for as long as a year before the recall. The New York Times reported in February 2012 that an internal e-mail at Johnson and Johnson revealed knowledge of the flawed devices as early as 2009, prior to the recall.

The 2010 national recall of the Depuy ASR Hip Replacement system was triggered by the high rate of premature failure of these implants in a notable number of patients. These patients had to have revision surgeries only a few years after what should have typically been a 15-year life span of these implants.

A recent study published in the International Urogynecology Journal discussed the relative merits of repairing prolapses using synthetic vaginal mesh or xenografts (a tissue graft from a donor of a different species) vs. using the natural pelvic tissues in the repair. The question the study aimed to answer was whether natural tissue augmentation actually improved the outcome of pelvic organ prolapse repair or whether using synthetic mesh resulted in an improved outcome.

Boehringer Ingelheim announced in March of 2008 that the European Commission had granted approval to market their new oral thrombin inhibitor known as Pradaxa 27 EU states. At this juncture it was expected that Pradaxa would soon be released in Germany and the UK as well.