Janssen to Pay $11M for Failure to Warn of Topamax Birth Defects

Kermit Cole
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A Philadelphia jury yesterday ordered Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen to pay $11 million to the parents of a five-year-old boy for failure to warn doctors of potential birth defects associated with its epilepsy drug Topamax.  “Janssen knew about Topamax’s serious risk of causing birth defects years before these mothers were prescribed the drug, but did not advise physicians of those risks,” said the family’s lawyers in a press release. The case is the second of about 134 pending in Philadelphia.

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Of further interest:
J&J Ordered to Pay $10M Topamax Verdict (Press Release)
Philly jury hits J&J with $11M verdict in Topamax birth-defects case (Fierce Pharma)

Editor’s note: this posting has been updated with new information.

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Kermit Cole
Kermit Cole
Kermit Cole, MFT, founding editor of Mad in America, works in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a couples and family therapist. Inspired by Open Dialogue, he works as part of a team and consults with couples and families that have members identified as patients. His work in residential treatment — largely with severely traumatized and/or "psychotic" clients — led to an appreciation of the power and beauty of systemic philosophy and practice, as the alternative to the prevailing focus on individual pathology. A former film-maker, he has undergraduate and master's degrees in psychology from Harvard University, as well as an MFT degree from the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia. He is a doctoral candidate with the Taos Institute and the Free University of Brussels. You can reach him at [email protected]

2 COMMENTS

  1. “Janssen knew about Topamax’s serious risk of causing birth defects years before these mothers were prescribed the drug, but did not advise physicians of those risks,”

    Of course no one goes to prison. Not these people.

    When the lawsuits roll in from the families of sick patients, they simply use a small portion of your windfall profits to pay a few victims and take the rest to the bank.