Johnson & Johnson Antibiotic Draws Lawsuit

Wall Street Journal

May 22, 2009—Johnson & Johnson faces civil lawsuits regarding the antibiotic Levaquin filed by one of the most prominent plainfiff's attorneys involved in the suits over Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller.

The legal action comes nearly a year after the Food and Drug Administration, responding to pressure from consumer groups, requested that block-box warnings be added to the antibiotic and others in its class regarding the risk of tendon ruptures.

Filed in a New Jersey state court on behalf of three plaintiffs from around the U.S., the suits charge that J&J and its Ortho McNeil unit promoted Levaquin as a safe treatment for bacterial infections despite allegedly knowing for years that it could cause a higher incidence of severe tendon ruptures and tendonitis.

"A typical Levaquin prescription costs just over $100, but generic antibiotics, which could just as effectively treated many of the same conditions, cost significantly less and have better safety profiles," said lead plaintiff lawyer Mark Lanier. "Johnson & Johnson and Ortho-McNeil have succeeded in convincing physicians to prescribe a more dangerous drug which, in turn, makes these drug companies more money."

At one point Mr. Lanier handled more than 1,000 Vioxx cases and won the first case which went to trial, obtaining a $253 million judgment in 2005. That was later reduced to $26 million under state damages caps and tossed out entirely last year by a Texas appeals court.

A spokeswoman for J&J, which is based in New Brunswick, N.J., said the company is reviewing the suit and had no immediate comment.

Levaquin News

Texas, Arkansas Lawsuits Allege Levaquin Caused Tendon Damage
Southeast Texas Record | December 3, 2009

Johnson & Johnson Antibiotic Draws Lawsuit
Wall Street Journal | May 22, 2009

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