Jury Supports AbbVie Again in The Fifth Bellwether Trial

Jury Supports AbbVie Again in The Fifth Bellwether Trial

Introduction

The fifth bellwether trial in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) over AbbVie Inc.'s testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) drug AndroGel, saw Illinois Federal Jury supporting the defendant. During the trial that began on May 7, 2018, a man and his wife claimed AndroGel led to his diagnosis of bilateral pulmonary embolism in February 2008. The jury stated that the drug was not responsible for the incident and announced the verdict in favor of the defendant.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy lawsuits are centralized before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in the Northern District of Illinois as part of federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) 2545. In the month of March, as per the federal jury's order, AbbVie paid  $3.2 million to the plaintiff who claimed he suffered a heart attack while using AndroGel.

Approximately more than 6,500 TRT lawsuits filed against AbbVie, Actavis, Inc. (formerly Watson Pharmaceuticals), Eli Lilly and Company, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Columbia Laboratories, and Auxilium Pharmaceuticals.

Allegations include severe side-effects linked to TRT, such as heart attacks, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and other serious medical conditions.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) is a hormone replacement therapy which has evolved in recent years; within a short period of time it reached its highest level of prescriptions in the US. When the testes fail to produce an adequate amount of testosterone and/or to conduct normal spermatogenesis, the result is hypogonadism also called ‘low t.’

In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved TRT to treat male hypogonadism due to disorders of the testicles, pituitary gland, or brain. The FDA stated that the benefit and safety of testosterone was not established for the treatment of low testosterone levels due to aging, even if a man’s symptoms seem related to low testosterone.

As the onset of normal effects of aging could be delayed or lessened with TRT prescription, the FDA became aware that testosterone was being used extensively in attempts to relieve symptoms in men with low testosterone for no apparent reason other than aging.

Testosterone is made available in forms like topical gel, transdermal patch, buccal system (applied to upper gum or inner cheek), and injection. The manufacturers involved are AbbVie, Actavis, Inc. (formerly Watson Pharmaceuticals), Eli Lilly and Company, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Columbia Laboratories, Auxilium Pharmaceuticals.

Popular brand names include: Andriol, Androderm, AndroGel, Axiron, Delatestryl, Depo-Testosterone, Intrinsa, Nebido, Omnadren, Primoteston, Sustanon, Testim, TestoGel, TestoPatch, Testoviron, and Tostran.

Another trial is scheduled to begin on June 5 for a plaintiff who filed a lawsuit in 2014 after suffering deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in April 2013 as well as in 2015 and blames AndroGel for both the incidents.