Super Poligrip Settlements Reached in Some Denture Cream Lawsuits

GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to settle a number of Super Poligrip lawsuits filed by plaintiffs who say they suffered severe and debilitating injuries as a result of zinc poisoning from the denture cream. 

The Super Poligrip settlements were reached with at least one law firm, who filed a motion Tuesday in federal court to establish a fund to satisfy claims involving their clients while the allocation and final disbursement of the monies is finalized. The number of lawsuits over Super Poligrip settled or the amount of money GlaxoSmithKline will pay were not disclosed in the court documents.

A few hundred lawsuits have been filed against GlaxoSmithKline and Proctor & Gamble, which manufacturers Fixodent denture cream, in courts throughout the United States by individuals who suffered severe neurological injuries as a result of high amounts of zinc entering their body from the popular over-the-counter products. The Super Poligrip and Fixodent lawsuits allege that the manufacturers failed to inform consumers that the denture cream products contains zinc and failed to warn about the risk or problems that can be caused when too much of the denture adhesive is used.

Denture cream zinc poisoning can occur when high levels of zinc in the body cause copper depletion, leading to permanent and debilitating neurological problems like neuropathy, numbness, tingling, pain, weakness, loss of sensation, loss of balance, paralysis and difficulty breathing. Although the recommended daily allowance of zinc is 11 mg for men and 8 mg for women, with 40 mg being the maximum amount of zinc that can be safely tolerated, some users of the denture creams have been found to have levels as high as 330 mg per day.

All federal lawsuits over Super Poligrip and Fixodent have been consolidated as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. A number of state court lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania have also been consolidated into a Mass Tort Program (MTP) in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Since litigation started, both GlaxoSmithKline and Proctor & Gamble have added zinc warnings to labels and websites for Super Poligrip and Fixodent. Earlier this year, Glaxo announced it was recalling all Super Poligrip products that contained zinc and was replacing them with non-zinc products.

The Super Poligrip settlement agreement comes as GlaxoSmithKline has been resolving a number of different outstanding liabilities. Earlier this month it was reported that the company set aside $2.36 billion to settle Avandia lawsuits, Paxil lawsuits and an investigation by the U.S. government. It is unclear whether the costs associated with settling Super Poligrip lawsuits was included in this set aside or whether GlaxoSmithKline has reached similar agreements with other denture cream lawyers.