A status conference was set for several hundred Risperdal lawsuits centralized in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on July 15. The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas is in fact one of the largest non-federal sites for consolidated litigation.

The allegations in the Risperdal lawsuits are the same as those filed in federal courts. Many teens who were prescribed the atypical antipsychotic drug used to their treat bipolar, schizophrenia, and autism symptoms, allege Risperdal led to increased levels of a hormone that can cause gynecomastia, which is also known as male breast growth or the Risperdal man boobs side effect.

The plaintiffs argue in their Risperdal lawsuits that Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which developed and marketed the drug, not only was aware of these issues but also promoted the drug for use in young men, off label, and/or unapproved uses.

In fact, the company paid hundreds of millions of dollars to settle allegations regarding these very tactics with federal regulators.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation may consider consolidation of similar Risperdal lawsuits filed in federal courts regarding adolescents who developed man boobs as an alleged result of the atypical antipsychotic.

The good news for some adolescents is that there are now generic alternatives to Risperdal that do not cause elevated prolactin levels like the Johnson & Johnson drug. They also have a lower likelihood of extrapyramidal symptoms like tremors and other conditions that other antipsychotics have caused.

Risperdal Uses and Legal Challenges

When Risperdal was first introduced onto the market, it was only approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat schizophrenia. However, the government claims in criminal information filed with the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that from Mar. 3, 2002 to Dec. 31, 2003, Janssen promoted Risperdal to treat dementia in elderly patients by treating symptoms such as anxiety, agitation, depression, hostility and confusion. The promotion materials made very little mention of schizophrenia.

From 1999 through 2005, Janssen also allegedly promoted Risperdal to be used in children with mental disabilities such as autism, bipolar disorder, attention deficit disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other mental disabilities, although it had not been approved for those uses.

It was later learned that Risperdal increases the development of prolactin, the hormone that both stimulates breast development and milk production.

The Justice Department reached a decision that Johnson & Johnson pay $2.2 billion in November 2013 as part of a settlement due to criminal and civil violations by the drug manufacturer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals over allegations that Risperdal along with Invega and Natrecor were improperly marketed to patients and doctors to be prescribed to treat illnesses that they had not been approved for.