by Spencer Aronfeld | Mar 5, 2014 | Defective Drugs, Low Testosterone
Low T drugs are expensive, and they can be unnecessary and even potentially dangerous to take. As a lawyer who sues drug low T drug companies, I find it ironic that most costly prescription drugs, such as AndroGel, also happen have the largest advertising budgets. It is also how these drugs are marketed directly to men that troubles me. Full-page advertisements paid for by the makers or low testosterone drugs are found in men’s magazines. Similar ads pepper internet sports blogs, asking these kinds of intimate questions: “Have you noticed a recent deterioration of your ability to play sports?” “Do you have a decrease in sex drive?” “Do you have low energy?” Most men would say yes, although not to anyone other than to their doctor, which is precisely the aim of the ads. They encourage men (preferably those with good health insurance) to ask their physicians to diagnose them with a newly-minted medical condition called Low Testosterone or more commonly, Low T. One might conclude that Low T is a medical condition made up by drug companies in order to sell a product that was not needed, considering just how much Low Testosterone Drugs cost. According to a recent New York Times article, Axiron, a testosterone gel made by Eli Lilly & Company, retails for over $500 a month. That may explain why Abbott Laboratories, the maker of the Testosterone replacement drug AndroGel, spent nearly $100 million to advertise that product alone, just last year. Risk of Low Testosterone Gels: Are They Bad For You? Testosterone replacement therapy comes in many forms. Perhaps the most common is a...
by Spencer Aronfeld | Feb 18, 2014 | Defective Drugs
Are American men getting soft? According to a 2006 study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, American men are losing testosterone at a rate of 1% a year. The reasons vary from obesity and toxic exposure to simply aging. When there is a perceived medical need, Big Pharma usually has an answer. A quick look at the sports pages of most American newspapers and blogs will show ads, some offering coupons, aimed at men and offering a “quick fix,” suggesting that they should get tested and ask their doctors about testosterone-boosting drugs to cure everything from fatigue to a diminished sex drive. As a result, the number of testosterone prescriptions written for American men has tripled since 2001. Increased risk of death by taking testosterone replacement drugs The Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) recently released a report describing a high risk of damage to the heart and blood vessels of men taking testosterone-therapy drugs to treat a medical condition known as low testosterone, or Low T. Clinical trials are used to test the safety of drugs by evaluating a drug’s effect while being taken by human beings. Researchers halted a recent clinical trial because men were developing cardiovascular disease resulting in myocardial infarction, strokes, and death at alarming rates. The study was performed at patient centers in the Veterans’ Healthcare System on 8709 men with documented levels of low testosterone. After 531 days of receiving testosterone therapy, they were given a test known as a coronary angiography that uses dye and a special x-ray to show the inside of a patient’s arteries. Researchers divided the group of...
by Spencer Aronfeld | Aug 30, 2013 | Defective Drugs
Rebecca Doherty, the Federal Court judge who is presiding over the Actos claim litigation, ordered this week that the lawyers representing both victims and the pharmaceutical giant Takeda meet to attempt to resolve any potential evidentiary disputes before filing motions to be heard by the court. The order, signed August 26, is commonly referred to as a “meet and confer” order–meaning the parties should actually meet and discuss the issues rather than taking the court’s time to hear protracted arguments. Para leer en español haga clic aquí. This comes in anticipation of the first Bellwether Pilot Programs (BPP), or test trials, scheduled to be heard in her Lafayette, Louisiana courtroom January 27, 2014. The final pretrial conference is scheduled for January 13, 2014. October 1st is the Discovery Deadline Pursuant to the Second Amended Scheduling Order, October 1, 2014 is the discovery deadline, meaning that there is not much time for both sides to prepare for the trial. Those deadlines also mean that claimants who have developed bladder cancer after having taken Actos should seek immediate legal assistance to protect their legal rights by emailing me, Spencer Aronfeld, or calling our office today at 1-866-597-4529 for a free initial Actos claims consultation. Actos came to my attention in 2011 when the FDA issued a warning that people who have taken Actos are more likely to develop bladder cancer. I then found a separate independent study done in France that also noted an increased occurrence of bladder cancer linked to patients’ taking Actos. At this time the drug had been marketed for years to millions of diabetes patients. The FDA Ordered...
by Spencer Aronfeld | Aug 27, 2013 | Defective Drugs
As a Florida Actos lawsuit lawyer, I have closely followed the country’s first Actos jury trial which recently took place in Los Angeles, California. In that case, the plaintiff claimed that Takeda, the manufacturer of Actos, failed to warn him of the risk of developing bladder cancer associated with the drug. This is the same theory that we are alleging on behalf of the clients we are representing across the country in the consolidated proceedings in Federal Court in Louisiana. Para leer en español haga clic aquí. After a nine week trial, a California jury awarded the plaintiff and his wife $6.5 million. Unfortunately, the trial judge overturned the verdict on a supposed legal technicality. Even though the California case was filed outside of our consolidated group of cases (MDL) pending currently in front of Judge Doherty in Louisiana, there is much we can learn from how the evidence was presented and what legal issues we will face when the first bellwether Actos Bladder Cancer case is tried in Federal court in a few months. The claimant,79 year old Jack Cooper, worked for Pacific Bell Telephone Co., and had taken Actos for five years to treat his diabetes before he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. He claimed Takeda failed to warn him, the public and his doctors about the increased risk of bladder cancer associated with Actos while continuing to market the drug as both safe and effective. An appeal will surely follow. Actos Bellwether Case Set for Trial In Louisiana Jan 27th, 2014 Currently, the bellwether or “test case” against the manufacturer of the diabetes drug Actos is set before Judge Rebecca F. Doherty...
by Spencer Aronfeld | Aug 14, 2013 | Defective Drugs
Leer en Espanol Lawsuits against kidney dialysis drug maker Fresenius are going to be much easier now that the Joint Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has ordered that all cases be filed in a consolidated proceeding to Judge Douglas P Woodlock, a Reagan nominee, at the Federal Court in Boston, Massachusetts. The order filed on August 6, 2013 by John G. Heyburn II, the Chairman of the JPML, found that the United States District Court in Massachusetts was the appropriate venue to hear cases on claims of patients who have suffered injury or death caused by the use of GranuFlo Acid Concentrate (GranuFlo) or NaturaLyte Liquid Acid Concentrate (NaturaLyte) during hemodialysis. The first hearing is scheduled for August 30, 2013. ARVE Error: id and provider shortcodes attributes are mandatory for old shortcodes. It is recommended to switch to new shortcodes that need only url THE CASE AGAINST FRESENIUS–METABOLIC ALKALOSIS The allegation against Fresenius is that GranuFlo and NaturaLyte were defectively designed or manufactured as they have been found to cause a medical condition called “metabolic alkalosis.” Metabolic Alkalosis is a relatively frequent clinical problem that is most commonly due to the loss of hydrogen ions from the gastrointestinal tract or in the urine, resulting in the following medical conditions: Low blood pressure Hypokalemia Hypoxemia Hypercapnia Cardiac arrhythmia and Cardiopulmonary arrest We believe that Fresenius either knew or should have known their products can cause injury, but failed to provide adequate instructions and warnings to both doctors and patients. The lead case, Nunez (LEAD CASE NUMBER 13-md-2428), involves a patient who died after suffering metabolic alkalosis as a result of...
by Spencer Aronfeld | Jul 29, 2013 | Defective Drugs, Defective Products
As a defective drugs attorney in Miami, I have read about the Actos cases proliferating in the Lafayette District Court in Louisiana. Actos is a prescription medication made by Takeda for use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and has been linked to bladder cancer. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ACTOS? We defective drugs attorneys are currently investigating claims on behalf of individuals who have developed bladder cancer after using Actos. In each of these cases, we allege that people who have taken Actos face an increased risk for developing bladder cancer. In addition, we believe that Takeda concealed its knowledge of this risk and failed to provide adequate warnings to both the consumers and their doctors. Defendants deny all allegations of fault. WHY WOULD MY ACTOS CASE GO TO LOUISIANA? Defective drugs attorney cases from around the country have been consolidated into one proceeding in front of The Honorable Rebecca F. Doherty. This has been done to streamline what would otherwise be a very costly and confusing legal process if thousands of individual claims were pending in various courthouses in multiple state and federal jurisdictions. The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, or JPML, ordered on December 29, 2011 that all pending cases against Actos be transferred to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, and the JPML assigned Actos claims to Judge Doherty. On July 16, 2013, Judge Doherty entered a comprehensive order regarding the scheduling of evidentiary hearings to determine the admissibility of the predicted expert testimony. She has set aside a considerable amount of the court’s time through the end of...
