MS Drug Linked to Brain Infection, Lawsuits Pending

The Boston Globe reported on September 10 that Biogen Idec Inc. and Irish drug maker Elan Pharmaceuticals Inc. are facing lawsuits after they allegedly failed to warn people about potentially dangerous side effects of the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri.

Kimberley A. Yout, who was diagnosed with MS in 1997, said that she took Tysabri for six years and her “speech became slurred, her gait unsteady, and her future uncertain.”

“I was a very successful businesswoman,” Yout told the Globe “Today, I can’t even balance my checkbook, I can’t use an ATM, I can’t see out of one eye. I had to move back in with my mother. I’ve lost my independence. I’ve lost everything.”

According to the Globe, Yout’s lawsuit is one of more than at least a half-dozen pending in Massachusetts and federal courts in three other states. In the lawsuits, the plaintiffs are seeking more than $1 million in punitive damages.

The patients claim that after taking Tysabri, they developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), an infection of the brain’s white matter that can cause death or severe disability.

Tysabri was approved by the FDA in 2004, but according to the Globe, its manufacturers pulled it off the market in 2005 after “several PML cases, two of which resulted in death.” It was brought back to the market in 2006, with several regulations, including a risk management program, training doctors prescribing it to monitor patients monthly.

The Globe reported that Tysabri generated profits of $1.6 billion in 2012, and is used by about 118,000 patients globally. According to the paper, there were 395 confirmed cases of Tysabri-associated PML, including 92 deaths, as of August.

Zoll, Kranz & Borgess, LLC (“ZKB”) specializes in assisting individuals injured or killed from dangerous, defective or contaminated medical drugs and devices.  For more information, contact our pharmaceutical drug and device litigation attorneys by calling toll-free (888)841-9623.

Zoll, Kranz & Borgess, LLC – Medical Drug and Device Attorneys