Class Action Lawsuit On Behalf Of Thousands Of Patients Undergoing Fertility Treatments Allowed To Proceed In District Court Against Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Regarding Its Recalled Drug, Bravelle

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Judge Amy St. Eve of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a 31 page ruling yesterday permitting a nationwide class action lawsuit to proceed against Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc. related to the manufacture and sale of its fertility drug, Bravelle. The lawsuit contends that over an 18 month period Ferring knew or had reason to know that Bravelle was sub-potent and could not deliver on its promised benefits. The plaintiffs allege that Ferring violated express and implied warranties, state consumer protection laws, and engaged in deceptive business practices.

Bravelle is a brand name version of the generic drug urofollitropin designed to stimulate egg maturation and multiple follicular development in women. Bravelle is commonly used in assisted reproductive technology including in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments.

The six plaintiffs allege that in October 2015, Ferring recalled all Bravelle it sold in the U.S. between March 2014 and October 2015 after internal testing revealed that certain lots did not meet potency specifications. The plaintiffs contend that Ferring failed to take appropriate steps to ensure the recalled Bravelle was effective before selling it, and that it would deliver the therapeutic dosage necessary to achieve the reproductive benefits as claimed on the product's Patient Information insert.

On April 22, 2016, Ferring moved to dismiss the plaintiffs' Complaint, but the Court yesterday held the case could proceed, ruling the plaintiffs "have plausibly alleged that all of the Recalled Lots were sub-potent or had the potential to be sub-potent" and that the plaintiffs' allegations "raise a reasonable inference that Defendant knew about the sub-potency issues well before October 2015."

Ferring has instituted a program where patients can seek reimbursement of the purchase price of the recalled Bravelle but the program does not provide full compensation to affected consumers. To date, Ferring has refused to pay for any costs related to the fertility treatments where recalled Bravelle was used. The class action lawsuit seeks damages for all out-of-pocket money spent by women and families to purchase Bravelle, the payments they made to medical providers for fertility treatments utilizing Bravelle, and all associated costs. The lawsuit is brought on behalf of all persons in the United States who purchased recalled Bravelle.

"We know even at this early stage that Ferring's own testing revealed the sub-potency issues with Bravelle," said Shanon Carson of Berger & Montague, P.C., one of two Court-appointed Co-Lead Counsel for the plaintiffs. "The cost of Bravelle is just a fraction of the overall costs of fertility treatments which are often not fully covered by health insurance, and therefore are borne by the families themselves. Imagine shouldering such costs, which often run into the tens of thousands of dollars, and undergoing the intense stress of IVF or IUI, only to find out the drug you relied on may not have been effective."

Katrina Carroll of Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC, also Co-Lead Counsel for plaintiffs, stated, "we believe we are going to be able to demonstrate serious deficiencies in the manufacturing process for this drug which has led to its removal from the market, and that Ferring was aware of those deficiencies before it announced the recall. Had Ferring taken earlier steps, many of our clients who could not afford multiple rounds of IVF could have used another fertility drug or opted against this procedure altogether. We look forward to litigating this case on behalf of these women and their families." More information about this case, Keith, et al. v. Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 1:15-cv-10381 (N.D. Ill.), is available at www.bergermontague.com/bravelle-case.

The national class action law firm, Berger & Montague, P.C., has offices in Philadelphia and Minneapolis, and consists of 70 attorneys who represent plaintiffs in complex and class action litigation. The firm's attorneys have a long history of successfully prosecuting consumer protection and defective product cases, and the firm has played lead roles in major cases for almost 50 years, recovering many billions of dollars for its clients and the classes they represent. On the Web: www.bergermontague.com. Affected women and families can contact Shanon Carson at [email protected] or (215) 875-4693.

Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC has offices in Newark and Chicago, and has extensive litigation experience in state and federal courts in complex class action litigation across a wide range of areas including consumer fraud and products liability. The firm has recovered more than $1 billion for aggrieved consumers. On the Web: www.litedepalma.com. Affected woman and families can contact Katrina Carroll at [email protected] or (312) 750-1265.

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SOURCE Berger & Montague, P.C.

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