Androgel Bellwether Case Gets New Legal Team

Chicago, ILJust days before the third Androgel lawsuit was set to go to court, the multi-million dollar verdict-winning lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the testosterone multidistrict litigation (MDL) swapped out their key lawyers.

The MDL currently consists of about 6,000 independent lawsuits, all claiming personal injury as a result of taking various testosterone prescription medications, including AbbVie Inc. and Abbott Laboratories Inc.’s Androgel. Men who take testosterone drugs are at increased risk of testosterone stroke and testosterone heart attack, according to recent studies. Androgel carries warnings on its label about a number of testosterone side effects including high blood pressure, blood clots in the legs, and "serious problems" for people who have heart, kidney or liver disease. Other low-t treatment brand names include Androderm, Axirom, Bio-T-Gel, Delatestryl, Depo-Testosterone, Fortesta, Striant, Testim and Testope.

In this third lawsuit, plaintiff Robert Nolte from Arizona, alleges that his use of Androgel caused him to develop life threatening blood clots. In the earlier AbbeVie trials, the plaintiffs alleged the drug caused heart attacks.

The trial is expected to last about two weeks, and while the legal team is different, they are expecting similar results to those seen in the previous two trials. In part, attorneys for the plaintiffs state, this is because the jurors don’t like the conduct from AbbVie.

The first trial, which went to court last summer, resulted in a $150 million verdict for the plaintiff. However, that award was vacated in December by US District Judge Matthew Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois, with a new trial set on the fraudulent misrepresentation claim for March 5.

In the second trial, which ended in October, the plaintiff was awarded a $140 million verdict, including $140,000 in compensatory damages.

Another case, set to go to court in December, was settled with a different defendant Eli Lilly and Co., prior to going to court, for an undisclosed amount.