Serious accusations over improper marketing of the drug Risperdal have come out in lawsuits about the drug’s side effects.

Risperdal is an antipsychotic drug, a drug approved to treat schizophrenia and several related disorders, as well as bipolar disorder and certain symptoms of autism.

Risperdal belongs to the second generation of antipsychotic drugs, which were designed to try and overcome the general sedation seen with first generation antipsychotics like Thorazine.

But allegations in Risperdal lawsuits hold that Risperdal has serious side effects of its own. Risperdal lawsuits allege the drug carries the risk of gynecomastia or “man boobs.”

The drug can increase the body’s production of progestin, a hormone associated with breast growth. Risperdal lawsuits allege that the makers of the drug didn’t do enough to warn about this risk, and illegally promoted the drug beyond what was approved by the FDA.

So many Risperdal lawsuits have been filed that they have been coordinated. The first Risperdal lawsuits are going to trial.

In one Risperdal lawsuit, it is alleged that the drug’s makers aggressively promoted the drug for off-label use. When a drug receives FDA approval, it is only approved for very specific uses — the ones the drug’s makers tested it for.

Drug makers can apply to expand the drug’s use, but it requires additional testing. There is a gray-area in the law. Physicians can prescribe a drug outside its FDA-approved purpose, but it is illegal for drug makers to promote this.

Various Risperdal lawsuits allege the company aggressively marketed the drug for off-label uses, exposing many to the risks of serious side effects.

In this case, the plaintiffs allege that the makers of Risperdal promoted the drug for off-label usage, leading a doctor to prescribe it to the 11-year-old plaintiff. The patient experienced gynecomastia and weight gain, which disguised the gynecomastia until the plaintiff stopped taking the drug and lost the weight.

Risperdal lawsuits hold that the drug was prescribed due to off-label marketing and the makers of Risperdal didn’t do enough to warn the public about the risk of male breast growth.

The lawsuit alleges drug makers had a financing plan to market the drug to younger children, even though the FDA approval was only for adults with a narrow range of psychiatric and neurological conditions.

The Risperdal MDL is In Re: Risperdal Litigation, Case No. 100300296, in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.