In what is being referred to as a “false marketing” scheme, Risperdal manufacturer Johnson & Johnson is facing public scrutiny over the high revenue sales of its schizophrenia medication.

Johnson & Johnson, which is best known for making household products including baby powder and mouthwash, actually makes up 90 percent of their profits based off of their medical devices and drug division.

The company manufactures several commonly prescribed medications including blood thinner Xarelto, diabetes medication Invokana and the schizophrenia treatment Risperdal.

Based on patient population, sales for Johnson & Johnson’s diabetic medication Invokana makes financial sense, as 29 million Americans have been diagnosed with this condition. Within the first quarter of 2015, Invokana had worldwide sales of $278 million.

However, schizophrenia only makes up one percent of the U.S. population yet profits for Risperdal make up a similar amount of annual revenue compared with their diabetes medication, reaching $254 million.

Medical experts state that based on the target audience of schizophrenia patients, Risperdal sales should be significantly lower yet Johnson & Johnson has somehow managed to reach high profits with nine-times fewer potential consumers. This has led to both physicians and patients asking how is this possible?

Risperdal Sales

The answer may be simple. According to multiple judicial judgements, Johnson & Johnson has increasingly marketed Risperdal to patients for uses that the FDA has yet to approve of.

Risperdal was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat schizophrenia in 1994. Since that time, Johnson & Johnson has made numerous attempts to sell the medication to a larger demographic but has been officially denied these requests.

It is federally approved to treat schizophrenic adolescents and adults. However, there has been increasingly more indications of severe side effects showing up in pediatric consumers including gynecomastia (man boobs).

According to studies, Risperdal male breast growth occurs in 30 percent of adolescent boys who take the medication.

Risperdal ‘Man Boobs’ Complications

Studies indicate that Risperdal may increase the levels of prolactin, which stimulates breast growth in women, placing young men between the ages of 10-18 at a greater risk for developing gynecomastia.

However, other Risperdal complications include weight gain so sometimes young men mistake male breast growth for excess fat build-up.

Yet when male patients discontinue the medication, the Risperdal breast tissue growth does not go away. Some plaintiffs even allege that they had to undergo surgery in order to remove Risperdal male breast growth.

Other Risperdal side effects include:

• Breast pain
• Nipple pain
• Nipple discharge
• Milk production

Risperdal Gynecomastia Lawsuits

Currently there are nearly 1,500 lawsuits that claim the medication caused Risperdal man boobs measuring as large as a 46DD cup size.

Two Risperdal lawsuits have gone to trial so far. The first one resulted in a $2.5 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson’s subsidary Janssen Pharmaceuticals. The second resulted in finding Johnson & Johnson failed to warn about gynecomastia risks but rejected claims that Risperdal caused the plaintiff’s medical condition.

Contact a Risperdal attorney to find out if you have legal claim.