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Boiron Oscillococcinum Class Action Lawsuit
By Mike Holter
A class action lawsuit claims that Boiron, Inc. sells a natural flu remedy called Oscillococcinum (Oscillo) that “is nothing more than a sugar pill,” despite falsely advertising that it contains an active ingredient known to treat flu symptoms.
According to the Oscillococcinum class action lawsuit, Boiron falsely advertises that Oscillo has the ability to cure the flu because it contains an active ingredient it claims is proven to get rid of flu symptoms in 48 hours.
“Unfortunately, Defendants fail to inform consumers of the truth regarding Oscillo and is purported active ingredient,” the Boiron class action lawsuit says. “The truth is that the listed active ingredient in Oscillo, Anas Barbariae Hepatis et Cordis Extractum, is neither active in combating the flu nor is it actually an ingredient in Oscillo.”
The ingredient, the Oscillo class action lawsuit continues, “is a fancy way for Defendants to hide the truth from the general public. The truth being that [the ingredient] is actually Muscovy Duck Liver and Heart…and has no known medicinal quality. Further, in the extreme dilution claimed by Defendants, it has no impact on the human body whatsoever because it is not present in Oscillo.”
In fact, the active ingredient is so diluted in Oscillo, the class action lawsuit claims, that the “probability of getting 1 molecule of the active ingredient of Oscillo in a regular dosage is approximately equal to winning the Powerball every week for nearly an entire year. Simply states, there is no trace of the purported active ingredient in Oscillo. Oscillo is nothing more than sugar (85% sucrose and 15% lactose).”
The Oscillococcinum class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all California residents who purchased Oscillo at any time within the past four years. It is seeking restitution; compensatory, actual, general statutory, exemplary, punitive and any other damages legally available; and an injunction ordering Boiron to cease and desist its fraudulent advertising of the product.
Updated January 18th, 2012
Originally Published August 8th, 2011
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37 thoughts onBoiron Oscillococcinum Class Action Lawsuit
Nice try big pharma! Ocillo works! God bless Boiron for Ocillo! My family has been antibiotic free for over 7 years!
I am so sad to hear such stupidity of a law suite. This world is full of ignorance. Bottom line, Occillo works, its safe and natural. This is by far the most outrageous law suite I have run across lately. Nice try.
The James Randi Educational Foundation has a long-standing prize of one million dollars for evidence that homeopathy – from any supplier – works. Go to http://www.randi.org and fill out the application…
James Randi.
I think that the legal advice people have been getting on these matters is under-educated and at the very least misdirected and bordering on unethical. If you really wish to dismantle homeopathy, you would go after the governing bodies in lieu of financial bottom feeding on the product liability insurance of these manufacturing businesses, if their policy will cover it. Stop pretending to argue the scientific high road when you have no actual evidence to back up your claims. I would love it if one of these companies took you up on fighting the suite, and counter sued your firm for a good chunk for their bottom line. Can I get a particle physicists and theoretical physicist to take the stand?
Fact is there is at least a hundred years of research into homeopathic medicine. It is not a new or hokey system of medicine. I suggest anyone to take a look at the history of homeopathy before you jump to a conclusion which may be misplaced. It is true that some people will respond better that others to homeopathic remedies, just as people do to pharmacological products. However, this is not grounds for frivolous, assumptive law suits.
Homeopathy is providing a safer system of medicine, as when the wrong or right remedies are used for a condition, there are no side effects, contraindications, or interactions with any other system of medicine. The dosages are extremely safe even with seemingly harmful materials (Arsenic, Deadly Nightshade, Mercury, Poison Nut, and Cobra Venom just to name a few).
The truth about the matter is a lot of these claims can also be made about pharmaceutical remedies as well. Anti-depressants are a classic case. If you have ever seen a psychiatrist for a prescription to manage your depression, you might of had the conversation about there not being a guarantee that the process may take a couple different prescriptions for different drugs and doses to “find the one that will work for you.” Yet with saturation of anti-depressants on the market and all the research that goes into approving drugs. How isn’t it that they haven’t narrowed down the field of the most effective and safest ones? How about the prescribing of viagra for female sexual dysfunction? Many medications are prescribed for off label uses as well. Should we be filing law suits for these issues as well?
I absolutely agree. This is what I use when I start to have flu symptoms and it works incredibly well. Those big money people don’t care if we get well. They just want the money which makes it very difficult for us to treat ourselves. I certainly wish my insurance would cover things that work instead of just poison. Anti depressants cause irreversible changes to our brains that cause us to need more anti depressants forever! They can’t make money on healthy people.
Recently, there has been a number of lawyers out there who are representing clients with claims against homeopathic medicine makers. The sad thing is that many of these suites are purely based on theoretical supposition, and attack this system of medicine based solely on the California Statue regarding false claims on a product because they don’t have enough ammunition to attack homeopathy on the grounds which they are regulated. The FDA regulates the use and claims of homeopathy based upon the Homepathic Materia Medica. All of the claims on the packaging, no matter the manufacturer, are approved through the American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists and the FDA.
I have used this product and the cold remedy. THEY WORK. I don’t know how either, but they work.
I have been using homeopathic remedies for well over 60 years, and have had great results with them. I don’t know how they work, but they do.
You do need to know how to use them. Perhaps that is a problem with some of the people here who complain? I even use them for my animals, and they work on them too. Of course one must get products from reputable homeopathic practitioners.
It’s worked for my family, and for my lady and me, for years. I am a graphic artist in Ohio, and I am in no way associated with Boiron, nor have they compensated me in any way (I’d let them – that stuff’s expensive!) for saying any of this. You take a dose of this stuff within a few hours of starting to feel crappy and achy and flu-like, another one 12 hours later, and you WILL feel better fast. Yes, rest and extra fluids help too. Of course they do. I’ve read the homeopathic derivation debunker stories, and I’m no idiot. I know what it looks like. However – I’m buying some tonight, because it works for us. You can do as you please.
I sure hope I did’nt waste my money. I am feeling under the weather and need relief. I have no medical insurance to see a doctor, so I went to CVS and found this product.