Final Chapter of HuffPost’s Risperdal Series Examines Verdict in Pledger Case

In the 15th and final chapter of its series on Johnson & Johnson’s Risperdal (risperidone), the Huffington Post (10/2) “Highline” recounts how the jury in the Pledger case handed down its verdict Feb. 24, 2015, finding J&J was negligent by failing to provide an adequate warning about the risk of gynecomastia associated with Risperdal. The jury awarded $2.5 million to Austin Pledger. Meanwhile, J&J’s “latest SEC filing says there are 4,200 Risperdal claims on dockets across the country.” All in all, author Stephen Brill argues, the Risperdal scandal raises concerns about regulation of drug manufacturers. Indeed, the company’s misconduct “would have gone unchecked” if not for the work of plaintiffs lawyers who “trudged through millions of documents.” The FDA “didn’t do that work.” Meanwhile, the “recent push from the bench, emanating from the Supreme Court, to expand the First Amendment rights of corporations could upend the core principle that a regulatory agency like the FDA can stop drug companies from spending whatever it takes to put their spin on what their products can be used for.”