Several lawsuits have been filed over the risks associated with certain HIV medications like Atripla, specifically those that contain the active ingredient tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF). These are drugs that belong to the same class, all manufactured by the drugmaker Gilead.

A number of personal injury and class action lawsuits have been filed against drugmaker Gilead, alleging that Atripla and its other tenofovir-containing drugs can cause toxicity to both the kidney and bones.

One of the most recent lawsuits was filed by two men in California who are living with HIV. These plaintiffs allege that Gilead concealed and downplayed the risks of its TDF-containing drugs.

They also allege that Gilead  purposely withheld a safer drug containing tenofovir alafenamide from the market, because the company allege intends to max out the profits it can make from TDF while it still can.

The HIV medications lawsuit was filed as a class action, and funded by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). Proposed Class Members would include California residents who were prescribed and took Atirpla, Viread, or Truvada between Oct. 26, 2001 and the present.

Another of these lawsuits, filed in July 2018, claims that these HIV medications have low bioavailability. This means the body is incapable of absorbing very well, which in turn means that these medications have to be “ingested at high doses in order to provide the promised antiviral effect,” the lawsuit claims. Then, the excessive amount of tenofovir, the active ingredient, can allegedly affect the bones and kidneys—in patients who are already weakened from the HIV infection that the drugs are meant to treat.

HIV Medications Linked with Kidney and Bone Complications

Several HIV medications made by drugmaker Gilead include the active ingredient tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), and have been linked with bone and kidney side effects. These belong to a class of drugs known as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, or NRTIs. These HIV medications include:

• Atripla
• Complera
• Stribild
• Truvada
• Viread

These HIV medications are intended to prevent the HIV virus from replicating in a person’s body, which in turn prevents it from being transmitted, and also help the immune system function better.

These HIV medications have been linked with a number of kidney issues, including kidney damage, kidney failure, and chronic kidney disease. Bone problems linked with these drugs include bone demineralization from compromised bone density. This may lead in some cases to bone fractures.

Lawsuits Over HIV Medications

Have you or someone you love taken HIV medications like Atripla, only to later suffer from major bone and kidney complications? If so, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue litigation. While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by these side effects, it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.