AbbVie, the manufacturer of AndroGel, is exposed to another product liability lawsuit. Kimberly Dula, from Georgia claims that the company failed to warn about the heart risks from AndroGel. Dula claims that he suffered three heart attacks as a result of using the testosterone gel.
49 year old Dula filed the complaint recently in March, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. There are now several Androgel lawsuits filed throughout the U.S., claiming that the drug manufacturer failed to warn about the risk of heart attacks, strokes, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism blood clots and wrongful death.
Dula began using AndroGel testosterone gel in November 2011, for treatment of symptoms of “low testosterone.” According to Dula, he started using the testosterone gel after seeing “low T” advertisements which urges men to ask their doctors about prescription treatments. The advertisements promotes common normal aging symptoms as a disease, with non specific symptoms of reduced energy levels, low sex drive and belly fat weight gain.
Testosterone Replacement Medical Studies
According to a recent study reported in the January 2014 edition of PLOSOne medical journal, testosterone treatments may double the risk of heart attack for younger men with heart disease and men over the age of 65. On the heels of that alarming report, the FDA stepped in and announced an investigation of low testosterone replacement therapy on January 31.
In November 2013, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that testosterone side effects may increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and death among older men.
Plaintiffs Lawsuit Allegations
The plaintiffs allege that AbbVie and their parent company Abbott Laboratories knew or should have known about the potential AndroGel heart attack side effects, but withheld important information from patients and doctors.
Many testosterone therapy lawsuits being filed against the manufacturers of AndroGel, Testim, Axiron, AndroDerm and others.
Low T is a Fake Disease
According to experts, the manufacturers mass marketed a disease of low testosterone in men, when in reality the incidence of low testosterone requiring medical therapy is rare. The FDA approved testosterone replacement drugs to treat medically diagnosed low testosterone levels.
Big Pharma On the Move
The largest Big Pharma companies that make and market Low T medical products are:
Abbvie, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Abbott Labs), AndroGel testosterone gel.
Elli Lilly and Company, testosterone underarm gel Axiron.
Actavis, Inc., Androderm
Endo Pharmaceuticals, Fortesta Testosterone Gel
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Testim Testosterone Gel
BioSante/Teva, Bio-T-Gel