Health Impact News Editor Comments
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is reporting that there are more than 1,300 product liability lawsuits involving Lipitor and diabetes now pending in U.S. District Court. They are also reporting that despite all the alleged injuries due to statin cholesterol-lowering drugs, statin medication now ranks as the most prescribed medication in the state of New Jersey.
Court documents indicate that more than 1,300 product liability lawsuits involving Lipitor and diabetes are now pending in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of South Carolina, where all federally-filed claims have been consolidated for coordinated pre-trial proceedings. Plaintiffs in these cases allege that Pfizer Inc. was aware that the statin could increase a patient’s risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, but concealed this information from patients and doctors. They further allege that information added to the Lipitor label in 2012 to address its association with diabetes was inadequate, and still does not adequately warn of this risk. (In re Lipitor (Atorvastatin) Litigation, MDL No. 2502)
As Lipitor lawsuits (http://www.lipitorlawsuitcenter.com/) continue to mount in U.S. courts, Bernstein Liebhard LLP notes that the statin medication now ranks as the most prescribed medication in the state of New Jersey. According to a report from NJ.com, the determination was made by the state’s Prescription Drug Registry, which maintains a list of New Jersey’s 150 most-commonly prescribed medications. The data is compiled from the most recent claims submitted by licensed New Jersey pharmacies to the state Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services. (Source.)
Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are a $100 billion a year industry. Lipitor is by far the most profitable drug in the history of mankind. It was also the most profitable cholesterol drug before its patent expired at the end of 2011. Sales to date from this one particular brand of cholesterol-lowering statin drug have exceeded $140 billion.
Lipitor benefited from the change in marketing laws in 1997 that allowed pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. to advertise their products directly to consumers. Pfizer convinced an entire generation of Americans that they needed a pill to lower their cholesterol in order to prevent heart disease, in what will go down as one of the most brilliant and unethical marketing schemes of all time.
After Lipitor’s patent expired at the end of 2011, the FDA issued its first warnings against statin drugs, which include: liver injury, memory loss, diabetes, and muscle damage. Soon after issuing these warnings, the lawsuits started trickling in. Today, with more and more studies being published linking statin drug use to various side effects, those lawsuits have become a tidal wave, even though you are not likely to hear much about this in the mainstream media.
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