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Johnson & Johnson spends $800 million to settle most gynecomastia lawsuits

The lawsuits generally accused J&J of failing to warn of the risk called gynecomastia associated with Risperdal.

Johnson & Johnson disclosed that it spent $800 million in settling "substantially all" of the roughly 9,000 cases by men who claimed having developed excessive breast tissue in using the company's antipsychotic drug Risperdal.

The company said it reached the agreement with lawyers handling the cases, including a lawsuit in Philadelphia by Maryland resident Nicholas Murray, who was awarded an $8 billion in punitive damage by a jury award in 2019. A judge has since reduced the award to $6.8 million.

The lawsuits, filed in Pennsylvania, California, and Missouri, generally accused J&J of failing to warn of the risk called gynecomastia associated with Risperdal, which they claimed were marketed for off-label, unapproved uses with children.

The company denied the allegations.

In 1993, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Risperdal for treating schizophrenia and bipolar mania in adults. It was only in 2006 that it was approved for treating irritability associated with autism in children.

The company separately agreed in 2013 to pay $2.2 billion to settle US criminal and civil probes into its marketing of Risperdal and two other drugs.

In May, the US Supreme Court rejected J&J's bid to overturn a $70 million jury verdict against it for its failure to warn about risks associated with using Risperdal.

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