Johnson & Johnson told to pay US$8 billion over drug side effect

A US jury has ruled that US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson will pay US$8 billion in damages, plus interest, for failing to warn that a psychiatric drug could cause breast growth in men.

Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals were blamed as plaintiff Nicholas Murray told the Philadelphia court that the drug Risperdal, prescribed to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, had made him grow breasts.

The company is challenging the ruling, issuing a statement calling the damages “grossly disproportionate” with the initial award in the case of $680,000.

“The company is confident (the ruling) will be overturned, and will be immediately moving to set aside this excessive and unfounded verdict.”

In the statement, Johnson & Johnson accused the court of preventing their defense team from presenting “key evidence” on Risperdal labeling.

The company is facing a series of complaints for failing to properly warn of Risperdal’s side effects, including in three states.

Risperdal, approved for the treatment of adults by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1993, brought in some US$737 million in sales in 2018.

SOURCE: Agence France-Presse