Defective Drugs – Rezulin

Rezulin (troglitazone) is a drug used to treat type II diabetes mellitus and is manufactured and marketed by Parke-Davis and Warner-Lambert. Since 1997, it has been known that the use of Rezulin can lead to severe liver toxicity, specifically cirrhosis of the liver, and it has been closely monitored by the FDA, together with several other similar drugs.

Parke-Davis and Warner-Lambert tried to keep the drug on the market by altering the drug’s labeling several times and recommending that patients on Rezulin closely monitor their liver function. However, in March 2000, the FDA forced Parke-Davis and Warner-Lambert to remove the drug from the market. The FDA’s decision to have the manufacturers pull the drug from the market made sense, because there are other drugs on the market which offer the same level of treatment, albeit more safely.

There are currently several lawsuits in the US courts against Parke-Davis and Warner-Lambert by patients who had been taking Rezulin. At the time of the withdrawal of the drug, over 500,000 patients in the US were taking Rezulin. There have been many confirmed reports of patients suffering from liver failure and some requiring a liver transplant, as well as numerous deaths that have resulted from taking the drug.

Current action against the company has been strengthened by the deliberate misleading of the public through altered labels of this defective drug. If you feel that you have suffered serious side effects from use of Rezulin, you may have grounds for a litigation suit against Parke-Davis or Warner-Lambert.