According to the National Center for Biotechnology Medicine, more people die from drug overdoses in the US than any other form of accidental death. Opioid overdoses outnumber the historical peak death rate of HIV, gun violence, and car crashes. There’s no doubt we’re in the middle of an opioid crisis. Often, people become addicted to this drug after a legitimate prescription to manage pain after surgery or a chronic pain condition. Some drugs have been developed to help combat the effects of opioid use disorder and reduce withdrawal symptoms. One of these drugs is Suboxone. However, Suboxone has significant side effects that cause other health problems, such as tooth decay. In addition, Suboxone manufacturers have faced lawsuits due to their sales and marketing tactics. Learn about Suboxone lawsuits and whether you’re entitled to compensation for your injuries here.
What Is Suboxone?
Suboxone is an FDA-approved medication widely used to treat opioid addiction by reducing withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings. Buprenorphine, the opioid in Suboxone, was put on the market in the 1970s and was the first medication doctors could prescribe and dispense to treat opioid addiction, which made Suboxone an easy-to-access and effective treatment for opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine works by preventing other opioids from binding to opioid receptors in the body, which reduces the risk of abusing other opioids and overdosing.
Why Are People Filing Suboxone Lawsuits?
There are two primary reasons lawsuits against Suboxone manufacturers are being filed. We discuss the two forms below:
Antitrust lawsuit
A federal court in Virginia (where Suboxone’s manufacturer, Indivior, Inc.’s headquarters are located) filed a Suboxone lawsuit against the drug manufacturer for deceptive marketing practices that have led to antitrust allegations. The lawsuit claims that Suboxone manufacturers suppressed the ability for generic forms of the drug to be produced through a technique called “product hopping.” When the tablet form of Suboxone was released in 2002, the manufacturer had seven years of exclusivity protection, which prevented other companies from producing lower-cost versions of the drug. Before this protection expired, Indivior developed a new version of film-version Suboxone that could be taken orally like a breath strip. Then, the company used marketing and sales strategies to market the film version to physicians, who started prescribing the film over the tablet. Once most physicians preferred the film, Indivior took the tablet off the market. This stopped other companies from developing an effective generic tablet version.
Other accusations against Indivior involved shady marketing strategies that falsely cited safety concerns with the tablet version of Suboxone. The Virginia court filed their case in 2019, and Indivior agreed to pay the Federal Trade Commission a $10 million settlement. In addition, a case in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleged that the company engaged in monopolistic practices. The case was settled last summer, and Indivior agreed to pay $102.5 million.
Tooth Decay lawsuits
Other Suboxone lawsuits are for dental injuries to patients who were prescribed the film version of Soboxone. The lawsuits claim that buprenorphine is highly acidic, which caused patients oral problems such as:
- Dental erosion
- Tooth decay
- Tooth enamel demineralization
- Tooth extraction
The lawsuits allege that Indivior knew that dental problems could arise due to buprenorphine’s high acidity but didn’t warn patients about the potential danger. Patients also had no alternative due to Indivior’s sales tactics described above.
Suboxone Lawsuit Overview
Manufacturers should have been aware that Suboxone could cause dental issues due to the acidity of buprenorphine. Despite this knowledge, the plaintiffs allege that the manufacturers initially sold and marketed Suboxone without warning patients about the risks. The FDA issued a public warning regarding oral Suboxone use, and in June of the same year, Indivior put a warning label about potential dental issues on the drug.
Who Can File a Suboxone Claim?
Patients who were prescribed and used the film version of Suboxone before June 2022 and suffered significant dental issues such as tooth extraction, loss of tooth enamel, and tooth decay may be eligible to file a claim. You must also adhere to Florida’s statute of limitations laws, which is two years after discovering the problem.
Case Update Spring 2024
In February, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation established an MDL for Suboxone, combining all federal lawsuits (there were 15 at the time) that claimed Suboxone manufacturers failed to warn patients about the dental issues. Judge J. Philip Calabrese is overseeing the case. After the case was consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL), 30 new cases were filed within the first six weeks. This shows that many more will likely be in the coming weeks and months.
Compensation for Dental Injuries Caused by Suboxone
Suboxone’s case represents the importance of vigilance in pharmaceutical monitoring and the need to hold companies accountable for their practices. If you or a loved one has been injured by Suboxone, please call us at the Michael Brady Lynch Firm at 888-585-5970.