Toronto, ONT: A class action lawsuit has been filed by plaintiffs in Canada who allege that they were never warned about the increased risk of cardiovascular events with the low testosterone injection Delatestryl (Court File No. 3704CP/14). The case was filed on July 22, 2014 in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
A multidistrict litigation involving over 150 testosterone lawsuits is also pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The case is In Re: Testosterone Replacement Therapy Product Liability Litigation (MDL No. 2545).
Testosterone products, used to treat so-called "Low T," have been linked to serious cardiovascular problems such as pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), stroke, heart attack, and death. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA) began investigating the cardiovascular risks associated with testosterone products in late January; the agency reminded consumers that testosterone products are only approved for men who do not produce enough of the hormone due to specific medical conditions. Testosterone replacement therapy is not approved for Low T or other non-medical conditions.
Testosterone safety reviews were also launched by the European Medicines Agency(EMA) and Health Canada, notes Parker Waichman LLP. Recently, warned the public that there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that testosterone therapy may increase the risk of cardiovascular events in men.
The reviews were prompted by two research studies linking testosterone products to a higher risk of blood clot, stroke and heart attack. One study, published in last November in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that older men were more likely to suffer cardiac death if they took testosterone. Older men and younger men with pre-existing heart problems were more likely to suffer a heart attack, according to another study published January in the journal, PloS.
Plaintiffs are represented by Parker Waichman LLC.
