Testosterone Replacement Therapy MDL No. - 2545

Introduction

Since 2010, Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) a hormone replacement therapy is prescribed to males with hypogonadism, which results in low testosterone levels due to disorders of the testicles, pituitary gland, or brain; this therapy has been eventually satisfying large proportions of individuals. It was foreseen to continue the performance in the coming years until allegations of serious and deadly side effects started popping up in 2014.

As per the recent update, more than 7,000 TRT lawsuits have been consolidated in Multidistrict Litigation in Northern District of Illinois in the court presided over by Judge Matthew F. Kennelly. The TRT case trial begins in June 2017 for the first set of 8 cases. Compared to the TRT sales statistics, the above number seems very less, apparently indicating an obvious upward increase in the lawsuits being filed in the next coming months.

As more and more claimants start knocking the doors for law and justice, law firms would have to be proactive to invest time and resources in understanding the past and pre-existing medical conditions, reasons for consuming Testosterone, source of availability of Testosterone, Testosterone Prescriptions made, quantity consumed, injuries caused, along with severity and frequency of drug consumption. Every minutest detail study will be required to ensure a genuine and healthy causality between drug and injury. 

Read here an article on the Testosterone saga.

To establish these alleged injuries, such as heart attacks, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism(PE), and other serious medical conditions linked to TRT therapy, it would be necessary to verify if any other factor present in the claimant's medical, family or past history has interfered with the TRT therapy. Also, a relative analysis of age, addictions, occupations, etc. would be advisable.

Important Legal Proceedings, Verdicts, and Settlements:

August 2017: The very first bellwether trial for a TRT lawsuit ended in a mistrial, which involved a plaintiff whose allegation against AndroGel was that it caused his heart attack, thereby bringing a pause phase.

September 2017: Claims against AndroGel manufacturer AbbVie were rejected by the jury in Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois; thereby, ruling in favor of the defendant.

October 2017: AbbVie faced the second loss in the TRT bellwether trial when the jury announced a verdict of nearly $140 million in favor of the plaintiff.

October 2017: The third TRT bellwether lawsuit is scheduled to go before the jury on November 6 with Auxilium Pharmaceuticals as the defendant for their testosterone-based Testim gel.

December 2017: Axiron bellwether trial dates, scheduled to begin on January 29 and March 5 this year, were vacated by the federal court after being informed by the counsels of the respective parties that a global settlement of all the claims was decided.

December 2017: The first AndroGel bellwether trial announced in favor of the plaintiff awarding him $150 million as punitive damages and no compensatory damages in June 2017 was tossed by the U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.

January 2018: Eli Lilly and Company announced a settlement of all the Axiron cases filed against it in the MDL, a month before the start of its first bellwether trial, resulting in the cancellation of two upcoming trial dates in January and March by Judge Kennelly.

January 2018: Despite winning its first trial in November 2017, Testim gel makers, Auxilium, settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount, just days before a trial in Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

January 2018: AndroGel maker AbbVie, won the verdict in the third bellwether case as the jury found that the TRT maker was not liable for the plaintiff’s pulmonary embolism condition.

February 2018: The makers of Testim gel reach an agreement to settle all Testim Lawsuits.

March 2018: In a retrial that started in early March, AbbVie was ordered by a federal jury to pay $3.2 million to the plaintiff, who claims he suffered a heart attack while using AndroGel. The jury awarded $200,000 compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages to the plaintiff.

May 2018: A jury supported the defendant stating that AndroGel was not responsible for the allegations made by a woman that the drug caused her husband's bilateral pulmonary embolism in February 2008.

June 2018: Endo International announced a $200 million settlement, thus resolving 1,300 Testosterone product liability cases. The company stated this "master settlement agreement" will conclude "all known" cases, and the deal does not include any admission of wrongdoing.

June 2018: AbbVie Inc. wins another lawsuit on June 14 over claims that its AndroGel caused a man's deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

July 2018: The pharmaceutical giant AbbVie owes $448 million in an antitrust case after U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle ruled that the AndroGel partner used sham litigation to block the generic versions of its TRT drug from getting to the market.

July 2018: A case management order issued by Judge Matthew Kennelly on June 29 confirmed that Actavis has agreed to settle all Androderm lawsuits filed by men claiming they suffered a heart attack, stroke, or other injuries as side effects of its TRT drug.

July 2018: AbbVie Inc. manages to overturn a $140.1 million verdict for a man who accused the company of hiding the adverse effects of its TRT drug AndroGel, which allegedly caused him a cardiac arrest.

July 2018: U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly ordered a retrial in the $140.1 million AndroGel verdict for a plaintiff who suffered a cardiac arrest due to the alleged use of the TRT drug.

July 2018: The Seventh Circuit denied reviving a TRT lawsuit filed against Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. linked to its drug Testim, stating that the District Court prevented the key witness from testifying.

July 2018: A master settlement agreement was finalized by the parties involved in the Androderm litigation against Actavis.

September 2018: Actavis, Endo, and AbbVie Inc. file a statement in Illinois federal court about reaching a tentative deal to settle all Testosterone lawsuits pending in the multidistrict litigation against them.

November 2020: U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly denies Actavis Inc.'s motion for summary judgment over one of its testosterone drugs case, stating that the company had a responsibility to warn apart from the FDA-approved package insert.

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