Nearly 1,500 testosterone replacement therapy drug lawsuits have been filed against manufacturers around the United States. Many of these cases have been consolidated into what is known as a Multidistrict Litigation, or MDL. The drugs at issue here include AndroGel, Fortesta and others. These lawsuits all basically allege the same thing. The plaintiffs are arguing that using these testosterone replacement medications caused them to suffer severe harm that included heart attacks and strokes. To make matters worse, some experts are calling low testosterone, or ‘Low-T’ as it’s commonly known, a “made-up” disease that the FDA has not even recognized.
Forbes Magazine recently published an article that delved into this growing legal issue. A link to that article can be found here. According to the report, 1,340 men are now part of the existing testosterone MDL and seven companies have been named as defendants. It is relatively rare for more than one company to be named as defendants in an MDL, but these situations all basically involve claims that are substantially similar in nature. In addition to the type of harm alleged, the plaintiffs are also accusing the defendants of problematic marketing practices.
Drumming Up the Market
One of those alleged marketing practices involves the nature of the ‘problem’ that is supposed to be treated by these drugs. That problem is known in medical terms as hypogonadism. Hypogonadism is another word for low testosterone. Low testosterone can affect men as they age, but in itself it is not generally a dangerous condition to face. In fact, many consider it a relatively natural part of the aging process. However, the companies that have marketed these drugs were extremely aggressive in their marketing efforts.
Exploding Sales
As a result of getting the word out to older male consumers regarding low testosterone and potential treatments, the sales of these medications skyrocketed after around the year 2000. An article that appeared in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society stated that “disease-mongering” – a term used by the authors of the article – led to this rapid increase in sales of these medications. A link to that article can be found here. Specifically, sales of testosterone medications in the United States alone grew from $324 million in 2002 to approximately $2 billion in 2012. The number of prescriptions increased five-fold during that same time frame.
Alleged Testosterone Medication Side Effects
Unfortunately, this widespread use of these medications only increased the danger faced by men overall. Several studies have been published that conclude that using these drugs can lead to an increase in the risks of heart attacks and strokes. Clearly, these are dangerous medical events that can often prove to be fatal. Many legal experts believe that the number of testosterone drug lawsuits will continue to increase.
If you or someone you love has been harmed in this manner, you need to contact the testosterone replacement therapy lawyers at Parilman & Associates as soon as possible to schedule a free initial consultation. You can either email the firm or call 800-800-DRUG.
