Plaintiffs in 28 Cymbalta lawsuits alleging that Eli Lilly & Co. failed to adequately warn about the likelihood of debilitating withdrawal side effects after discontinuing the anti-depressant are asking a federal judge to transfer all of the cases to one Central California judicial district.

The plaintiffs argue that transferring all of the Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuits to a single district makes sense to avoid duplicative discovery and hearings and will also make it easier to handle future Cymbalta lawsuits. The Central District of California is the most appropriate venue since 10 of 28 Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuits filed are in the Golden State, according to a court filing.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs hope that by establishing a Cymbalta mass tort, plaintiffs will receive faster vindication since they will be able to share in pretrial proceedings.

Eli Lilly Downplayed Cymbalta Withdrawal Symptoms, Plaintiffs Say

Cymbalta maker Eli Lilly & Co. is accused of failing to properly warn consumers about the severity of Cymbalta withdrawal. The bevy of withdrawal symptoms include extreme mood swings, anger, irritability, electric-shock sensations in the body and brain known as “brain zaps,” physical and neurological problems, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, vertigo, excessive sweating, insomnia, nightmares, diarrhea, suicidal thoughts, involuntary laughing or crying, hypomania, tinnitus and seizures.

In addition to being an anti-depressant, Cymbalta, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), received FDA approval to treat fibromyalgia — chronic body pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues — in 2008.

Complaints about severe Cymbalta withdrawal led the FDA in 2009 to post on its website information about something known as Cymbalta Discontinuation Syndrome, noting that there are thousands of internet entries addressing Cymbalta withdrawal trauma.

The FDA published claims that “Cymbalta discontinuation syndrome is more severe and much more widespread than acknowledged by Eli-Lilly, Lilly sales representatives and marketing materials do not adequately inform physicians about the likelihood and severity of discontinuation syndrome, Lilly Direct to Consumer (DTC) advertising is misleading related to the probability, severity and complexity of Cymbalta discontinuation, and Lilly has not developed and fielded a clinically proven protocol for safely discontinuing Cymbalta.”

People from across the country have filed Cymbalta lawsuits against Eli Lilly saying the drug company misled them. While the drug’s labeling stated only one percent or two percent of users experienced withdrawal symptoms when discontinuing Cymbalta, studies indicate that figure to more accurately be between 50 percent and 78 percent.

In 2012, Eli Lilly was slapped with a Cymbalta class action lawsuit accusing the company of concealing the withdrawal risks, estimating that Lilly sold some $18 billion in Cymbalta between 2004 and 2011.

“Instead of honestly disclosing the risks associated with Cymbalta withdrawal and letting consumers and prescribing healthcare professionals decide if Cymbalta was worth the risk, Lilly engaged in unfair and unlawful marketing practices,” the Cymbalta class action lawsuit states.