When antipsychotic drug Risperdal was released in the 1990s, pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson touted it as a step up from anything else on the market. Their claim is why it has since been used by millions of Americans to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and irritability related to autism.
What the public didn’t realize until much later was that the drug carried unexpected and life-altering side effects. Thousands of men have claimed that taking Risperdal caused them to develop gynecomastia, a disorder resulting in the enlargement of male breasts. They accuse drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals of hiding the risks and failing to warn the public about side effects.
On top of all that, Johnson & Johnson was slapped with more than $2 billion in government fines for marketing its drug to vulnerable populations – against the recommendation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Thousands of lawsuits are currently pending in court and moving toward a possible settlement.