Quoted from http://www.forbes.com/sites/arleneweintraub/2015/08/17/abbvie-challenges-fairness-of-upcoming-testosterone-trials/
AbbVie Challenges Fairness Of Upcoming TestosteroneTrials
August 17, 2015
Nearly 2,000 men who believed they suffered heart attacks and other adverse events after taking testosterone have sued seven of the hormone’s manufacturers, and now the court handling the consolidated lawsuits has picked one of those companies to go on trial first: AbbVie, maker of the popular AndroGel. Six so-called bellwether trials will begin in October 2016, and lawyers representing AbbVie and the men who have sued the company have been instructed to pick 32 representative cases for potential trial over the next few months.
The selection of those bellwether cases has been quite contentious, juding from filings last week inthe U.S. District Court forthe Northern District of Illinois, which is handling the consolidated testosterone cases. AbbVie has filed to have several of the claims dismissed, and it’s pressuring the court to ensure the fairness of the process by being actively involved in selecting the first cases to go to trial, rather than leaving it up to the lawyers to do so. That has prompted a war of words with plaintiffs’ lawyers, some of whom are accusing the company of undue influence over the bellwether process.
First, a recap: The lawsuit alleges that AbbVie and other testosterone makers endangered healthy men by marketing the hormone to treat sexual dysfunction, age-related fatigue and other symptoms that go beyond what the product is approved by the FDA to treat (hypogonadism, a serious hormonal decline caused by disease or injury). The companies popularized the term “Low T” to describe the symptoms the products were marketedto treat.The plaintiffs allege that taking testosterone caused them to suffer heart attacks, strokes and other debilitating side effects.