Good News for Risperdal Gynecomastia Victims

Philadelphia, PAJury verdicts so far: Two in favor of Risperdal plaintiffs and one in favor of the defense: Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson & Johnson. A Philadelphia jury has awarded a young man $1.75 million for damages from disfigurement and mental anguish, even though he continued to take Risperdal after the label change in 2006.

In 2003, when Nicholas Murray was nine years old, he was prescribed Risperdal to treat schizophrenia, but the antipsychotic drug had only been approved by the FDA for adults. The Maryland boy developed gynecomastia, the development of female-like breasts in boys and young men, and the jury found Risperdal to be a “substantial factor” in this disorder. The jury found the drug company guilty of failing to warn patients of the risks of gynecomastia in connection with the drug.

The first Risperdal trial in February 2015 awarded plaintiff Austin Pledger and his family $2.5 million. Pledger, who is now 20, was prescribed Risperdal when he was eight years old to treat symptoms of autism. In his teenage years, Pledger developed size 46 DD breasts. Risperdal lawsuits also allege that the drug company encouraged off-label prescriptions for children before the breast growth side effect went on the label. At the trial, Pledger’s attorney said “If there was ever a clear failure-to-warn case, this was it.”

According to court documents, J&J encouraged doctors to prescribe Risperdal off-label to treat attention deficit and disruptive behavior and other childhood disorders, which are, for the most part, simply symptoms of growing up.

These lawsuits come on the heels of David Kessler’s testimony. A former head of the FDA and a pediatrician, Kessler testified as an expert in a review of the drugmaker’s handling of the medication in September 2012. Kessler said J&J knew as early as 2001 that Risperdal caused boys to grow breasts, but J&J didn’t slap a warning on the drug until 2006. Officials of J&J’s Janssen unit funded a 2001 study that showed 3.8 percent of boys given Risperdal during the clinical trial developed breasts that were either “probably or very likely” caused by the drug, according to Bloomberg (Jan 2015).

Kessler also added that J&J promoted Risperdal off-label, going so far as to provide doctors with trinkets such as children’s bright-colored Lego-like blocks featuring the Risperdal logo.

The third case found in favor of the defense, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, rather than plaintiff William Cirba. Although the jury determined that J&J failed to warn of gynecomastia risks, no damages were awarded because a direct link between Risperdal and Cirba’s breast growth was not established.

More than 1,500 Risperdal lawsuits nationwide are waiting to go to trial.