Patients undergoing treatment for HIV who experienced unexpected tenofovir side effects might not realize it until the symptoms are severe.

Research has shown that HIV drugs based on the medication tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, or TDF, can lead to chronic kidney disease and bone problems. Allegedly, these drugs can cause bones to lose minerals, in a process called bone demineralization. This can cause compromised bone density and lead to fractures.

Tenofovir Side Effects

HIV drugs are antiretroviral medications that work by preventing the HIV virus from replicating. HIV drugs containing TDF are a class of antiretroviral drugs called nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs).

Allegedly, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate poses a problem to patients because the active ingredient has low bioavailability, meaning that the ingredient does not absorb into the body well. So HIV patients have to ingest these drugs in high doses to get the needed antiretroviral effect.

However, though the drugs do not absorb well, consuming such high doses of the drug can have a negative impact on a patient’s body. Allegedly, the excessive amounts of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate travel to patients’ bones and kidneys, and can damage both, causing bone demineralization and kidney disease including serious problems like kidney failure.

Unfortunately, these tenofovir side effects can be especially trying for patients who are already combatting HIV, which weakens a person’s immune system.

Tenofir side effects can include:

• Bone mineral density loss
• Bone necrosis (bone death)
• Bone fracture
• Osteopenia
• Osteoporosis
• Kidney toxicity
• Chronic kidney disease
• Kidney damage
• Kidney failure

Tenofir, Truvada and Other HIV Drug Lawsuit Investigations

Patients who have been injured by their use of drugs like Truvada that contain TDF can take legal action by filing a lawsuit. Truvada Tenofir HIV drug lawsuits can help patients gain compensation for the injury they suffered as a result of their use of the drugs.

Some patients claim that drugmaker Gilead knew of the tenofovir side effects, but continued to market drugs including Atripla, Truvada, and Viread as safe and effective. Allegedly, patients claim the companies intentionally misled consumers to maximize their own profits, and knowingly injured patients.

A July 2018 lawsuit cited the drugs alleged low bioavailability as the reason why they were dangerous to patients and could cause toxicity to bones and kidney.

Allegedly, Gilead knew that the drugs had low bioavailability since they began developing the drug, but did not sufficiently warn patients or doctors. The Truvada tenofovir bioavailability lawsuit said that Gilead radically downplayed the severity of the dangers posed by Truvada, merely noting that doctors should “consider monitoring” bone mineral density in “patients with a history of pathologic fracture or who are at risk for osteopenia,” a condition that occurs when patients bodies don’t make new bone as quickly as it reabsorbs old bone.

Lawyers have launched an HIV drug investigation and are helping patients who have experienced tenofovir side effects or side effects from other HIV drugs containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF). If you took any HIV drug containing the active ingredient tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and developed bone or kidney problems, you may have a legal claim. HIV drugs that involve tenofovir disoproxil fumarate include:

• Atripla
• Complera
• Stribild
• Truvada
• Viread