AndroGel MDL Motion Filed to Centralize Testosterone Gel Lawsuits

A request has been filed with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) to consolidate all AndroGel lawsuits filed throughout the federal court system, centralizing the cases before one judge for coordinated handling during pretrial proceedings.

According to Motion to Transfer (PDF) filed on March 28, there are currently at least 38 product liability lawsuits filed in U.S. District Courts throughout the country involving similar allegations that side effects of Androgel testosterone caused plaintiffs to suffer heart attacks, strokes, blood clots and other cardiovascular problems, including death.

A group of plaintiffs are requesting that all cases be centralized in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois as part of an Androgel MDL, or Multidistrict Litigation.

AndroGel is the leading testosterone replacement therapy, which is delivered through a gel pump. All of the lawsuits involve similar allegations that the drug maker AbbVie failed to adequately warn men about the risk of heart problems from AndroGel.

The MDL motion requests that all cases be centralized before U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly, who is already presiding over the Androgel litigation in the Northern District of Illinois. At least 36 of the cases pending nationwide have been filed in Illinois, with additional cases pending in Colorado and Pennsylvania.

As testosterone injury lawyers continue to review and file cases throughout the United States, it is ultimately expected that hundreds, if not thousands, of lawsuits will be brought against AbbVie in courts throughout the country.

Centralizing the federal Androgel testosterone cases before one judge is designed to reduce the risk of duplicative discovery in hundreds of cases, avoid conflicting rulings from different judges and to serve the convenience of the parties, witnesses and the courts.

Testosterone Treatment Litigation

In recent months, AbbVie and other pharmaceutical companies have faced a growing number of claims over the popular low testosterone treatments, claiming that the drug makers withheld important information from consumers and the medical community. In addition lawsuits over Androgel, a number of Testim lawsuits, AndroDerm lawsuits, Axiron lawsuits and other testosterone treatment lawsuits are being investigated nationwide.

The cases come after a series of studies have raised concerns about the link between testosterone and heart attacks.

In January 2014, a study was published in the medical journal PLOSOne, which found that low testosterone treatments may double the risk of heart attack for younger men with heart disease and men over the age of 65, regardless of their prior heart conditions.

This research was a follow up to a November 2013 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that suggested side effects of testosterone may increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and death among older men with certain pre-existing heart problems.

In response to the findings, the FDA launched a safety review of AndroGel and other testosterone replacement therapy on January 31, leading to multiple media reports about the potential risk and lawyers advertising for potential claims.

The complaints involve allegations that the manufacturers essentially created the “disease” of low testosterone among men, blaming everything from fatigue to grumpiness on “Low T.” However, originally, the testosterone drugs were approved by the FDA to treat medically discernable low testosterone levels caused by a medical condition, such as hypogonadism. The condition was at first estimated to affect only about a million men in the U.S., but now the pharmaceutical industry estimates a 20 million man market for testosterone drugs.