A Philadelphia jury on Tuesday hit Johnson & Johnson with an $8 billion verdict over its marketing of the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal, siding with a Maryland man who argued that the health care giant downplayed risks that the drug could lead to breast growth in boys. He said that he grew breasts — a condition known as gynecomastia — after he began using Risperdal in 2003, at age 9, to treat symptoms of autism. “This jury resoundingly told Johnson & Johnson that its actions were deliberate and malicious,” Mr. Murray’s lawyers, Mr. Kline and Jason Itkin, said in a statement Tuesday. “The conduct that the jury saw in the courtroom was clear and convincing that J&J disregarded the safety of the most vulnerable of children. This is an important moment, not only for this litigation, but for J&J, which is a company that has lost its way.”

Source: New York Times October 09, 2019 01:48 UTC