J&J being sued over Risperidal causing breasts in men

Thousands of boys and men who were prescribed Johnson & Johnson's anti-psychotic drug Risperdal developed breasts, and are now suing for financial damages related to disfigurement caused by the drug.

It's a side-effect patients would likely want to know about.

Gynecomastia causes the breast tissue of men and boys to grow. The side effect has been associated with Risperdal for several years, but thousands of early patients claim they were not told about it.

Risperdal is an anti-psychotic drug generally used to treat schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. It's also prescribed to some autistic children to treat irritability and has been used ''off –label'' by some doctors for the treatment of attention deficit disorder and sleep disorders.

It has been a blockbuster drug for Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, Janssen, with annual sales that peaked in 2007 at $4.5 billion.

One man says dealing with the breast enlargement side effects of Risperdal at the age of 13 was more difficult than dealing with his symptoms of bipolar disorder.

According to a report in AskMen, Eddie Bible explains, ''I had bigger boobs than the girls in (high) school.'' He is 26 now and adds, ''If I knew what the side effects would be of the medication, I would have never taken it.''

Doctors continue to prescribe Risperdal, although since 2006, drug maker Johnson & Johnson has been listing gynecomastia as a side effect.

Now, 13,000 victims in the US who were unwittingly injured by the drug are suing Johnson & Johnson for financial damages.

Those damages are related to ''disfigurement caused by Risperdal."

Risperdal has already been the source of much controversy since first being introduced on the market in 1994. Johnson & Johnson has paid more than $5 billion in penalties and settlements as a result of civil and criminal complaints over the usage of Risperdal and two other drugs.

One 2013 settlement stemmed from the promotion of Risperdal and two other drugs for dementia patients, when their approval by the Food and Drug Administration was only for schizophrenia.

The US Department of Justice also accused Janssen, the J&J subsidiary that markets Risperdal, of promoting the drug for use in children and people with mental disabilities even though it was aware of several health risks.

The lawyer for Risperdal victims, Jason Itkin, says, ''In the mid-90's, early 2000s, Johnson & Johnson made a conscious decision that they were going to withhold important information about their drug so that they could essentially increase their profits by selling it to kids.'' He contends, ''J&J went out of their way to hurt these kids, and now the information has come to light.''

Itkin argues, ''Unfortunately, past fines that J&J already paid did nothing to help those who directly suffered through the bullying and shaming after developing female breasts.''

Aaron Banks started taking Risperdal in 1999, when he was 9 years old. He says he suffered psychological damage after growing breasts. Banks' attorney, Stephen Sheller, pointed out in 2012 that "these are boys who grew breasts as large as 'D' cups."

Arturo Carino developed breasts as a teenager after taking Risperdal for a mental illness. Now 23 years old and unable to afford breast reduction surgery, he continues to suffer from gynecomastia.

Eddie Bible knows suing J&J won't bring back his past or make scars from breast reduction surgery disappear. He hopes to make the company understand what he went though. He says, ''Looking back on it, I feel like an experiment.''