TEXAS LAWYER
March 27, 2000
HOUSTON - Littlepage & Associates, a four-lawyer Houston plaintiffs firm filed a product liability suit March 22 against pharmaceutical giant Parke-Davis/Warner-Lambert over the diabetes drug Rezulin, which was taken off the market March 21 at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. According to a March 21 statement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rezulin is toxic to the liver and the availability of two similar drugs less harmful to the liver makes the continued use of Rezulin an unacceptable risk. Partner Zoe Littlepage believes the March 22 suit, Andrea Shaw, et al. v. Warner-Lambert Co., et al., filed in Montgomery County, Md., is the first of its kind in the country. Shaw alleges that Rezulin caused the death of Maryland diabetic Monica George and alleges Parke-Davis was negligent. The complaint asks for an unspecified amount of damages. Littlepage says Shaw is the first in a series of Rezulin cases her firm intends to file in the coming months. Parke-Davis had not been served as of press time. A company spokesperson could not be reached by press time, but in a prepared statement Parke-Davis/Warner-Lambert says it "voluntarily discontinued selling Rezulin, although the company continues to believe that the benefits of the drug outweigh its associated risks." - Jenny Burg, Janet Elliott and Lisa M. Whitley reporting
Copyright 2000, Texas Lawyer.