Class Action Lawsuit Following Ethex Recall of Morphine and Other Drugs
December 3rd, 2008 • Filed Under: News • 3 Comments
A stockholder class action lawsuit has been filed against KV Pharmaceutical Company, the parent company of Ethex Corp., which has issued a series of recalls this year as a result of oversized tablets of morphine and other generic drugs.
The KV Pharmaceutical class action lawsuit was filed on December 2, 2008, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on behalf of investors who purchased Class A Common Stock (NYSE: KV-A), Class B Common Stock (NYSE: KV-B) and 7% cumulative convertible Preferred Stock (Symbol: KVPHP) between February 15, 2008 and November 12, 2008.
Over 60% of the revenues for KV Pharmaceuticals come from Ethex, their generic drug making subsidiary.
This year, a series of Ethex drug recalls have been issued due to manufacturing problems which allowed double strength tablets to be commercially released.
On June 10, 2008, one lot of 60 mg Morphine Sulfate Extended Release tablets were recalled when it was found that some of the pills sold since April 2008 were of double thickness and contained twice the appropriate amount of morphine. This could have led to a fatal morphine overdose. On June 16, 2008, another 64 lots were added to this morphine recall.
In October 2008, Ethex issued a recall for Dextroamphetamine Sulfate 5 mg tablets after discovering that three lots could contain tablets that were oversized.
In November 2008, another major Ethex recall was issued involving several different generic drugs that also could have contained up to double strength tablets, including Morphine Sulfate Extended Release Tablets (15mg), Isosorbide Mononitrate Extended Release Tablets (30mg and 60mg), Propafenone HCI Tablets (150mg, 225mg and 300mg), Morphine Sulfate Immediate Release Tablets (15mg and 30mg) and Dextroamphetamine Sulfate Tablets (10mg).
The investor class action lawsuit alleges that KV Pharmaceutical made false and misleading statements about their compliance with FDA regulations regarding the manufacture and marketing of generic drugs and failed to disclose that their manufacturing facilities were in disarray, resulting in the sale of unsafe drugs that may contain more than the intended levels of the active drug.
KV Pharmaceutical and Ethex Corporation also face potential liability from product liability lawsuits being pursued by users who suffered morphine overdose or other injuries caused by the double strength tablets that were sold.
Comment by Paulette on 19 December 2008:
IR Morphine 30 mg …I was unable to breath normally,an ambulance was called,couldn’t lay down and breath at the same time,was sick.Ambulance medics thought it was from normal dose of morphine,but I have been taking that kind of morphine for a couple years and suddenly ,I guess maybe froim a bad batch,I was overdosing.Beware of Morphine IR 30 mg!!!I think some batches are bad.
Comment by lisa on 20 December 2008:
i was taking the higher dosage of morphine sulfate . i was getting horrible stomach problems ,headaches shaky with high racing heart rate,not to mention i’ve been on these for many years and i have been regulating them as to keep my tolerance down so that they work for me . i was having withdrawal symptoms for weeks after going back to my regular dose.
Comment by Michael on 31 December 2008:
I have been taking propafenone for 8 years without problems. My condition being treated is atrialfibrilation. Suddenly in late summer I started having an unexplained series of heart arythmias. I was in the hospital for treatment to regulate may heart beat shortly after my refill.. The irregular heart beat made sense when I was notified I was taking faulty medication.