Regarding neurontin and the law

When you discover that doctors have accepted compensation from a drug company in return for inappropriately prescribing a drug whose side effects have caused your husband severe problems, where do you turn? A reader named Rosemary turned to the HSI Forum.

Last week in an e-Alert titled “The Whistle Blower” I told you about a former employee of the drug company Warner-Lambert, who launched a lawsuit against W-L when he was asked to participate in a prescription drug marketing scheme that he knew would put consumers’ health at risk. The drug in question is Neurontin, a medication designed to help control epileptic seizures.

Rosemary asks about the side effects of Neurontin and if a class action suit has been filed against Pfizer (the company that acquired Warner-Lambert in 2000).

The most common side effects of Neurontin (primarily due to excess dosage) include drowsiness, dizziness, fatigue, double vision, tremor, and unsteadiness. In rare cases Neurontin can cause fever, ulcers in the mouth, unusual bleeding and easy bruising.

As for the legal side, current criminal and civil actions have the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston investigating the charges that Warner-Lambert attempted to inappropriately influence doctors to prescribe Neurontin. An unrelated class action suit has been filed, charging that W-L and Pfizer artificially inflated the price of Neurontin while attempting to prevent other companies from selling generic (and much less expensive) versions of Neurontin. Our research showed that there are no current class actions against Pfizer regarding adverse side effects of Neurontin due to deliberate over-prescribing of the drug.

I hope this information helps, Rosemary – and best of luck to you and your husband.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

 

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