J&J and Eli Lilly Concealed Breast Cancer Risks in Blockbuster Antipsychotics for Decades, Wisner Baum Lawsuit Alleges

ALAMEDA, Calif., April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court alleges pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly knowingly concealed evidence that their blockbuster antipsychotic medications Risperdal (risperidone) and Zyprexa (olanzapine) cause breast cancer.

Attorneys from Wisner Baum filed the complaint on behalf of plaintiff Bridgett Brown, who was prescribed both brand-name and generic versions of Risperdal and Zyprexa. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in approximately 2024.

This is the first lawsuit to allege that these antipsychotic drugs cause breast cancer. The complaint centers on the drugs' capacity to cause hyperprolactinemia—a hormonal imbalance directly tied to breast cancer development.

Recent studies cited in the lawsuit show significant increased breast cancer risks:

• 62% increased breast cancer risk for high-prolactin drugs like Risperdal and 54% increased risk for medium-prolactin drugs like Zyprexa – A study of 540,737 women (Rahman, 2023)
• 59% increased breast cancer risk for Risperdal – A review of 15 studies conducted on over 1 million individuals (Bird, 2025)
• 47% increased breast cancer risk after 5+ years of exposure to prolactin-increasing antipsychotics like Risperdal and Zyprexa – A Swedish registry study of 132,061 women (Solmi, 2024)

Atypical antipsychotic drugs were initially approved for treating severe schizophrenia. However, the lawsuit alleges the drug manufacturers broadened their customer bases by gaining approval for milder indications and promoting off-label use, including ADD in children and dementia in the elderly, generating billions in profits.

"These companies transformed narrow-use schizophrenia drugs into multi-billion-dollar per year blockbusters by targeting extremely vulnerable segments of our population, all while hiding a cancer risk they've known about for decades," said Pedram Esfandiary, attorney for Ms. Brown.

The lawsuit alleges that despite knowledge dating back to the 1990s connecting these drugs to hyperprolactinemia, drug labels denied any cancer risk, stating until 2025, "neither clinical trials nor epidemiological studies conducted to date have shown an association between chronic administration of this class of drugs and tumorigenesis in humans."

"The science has been clear on prolactin-elevating antipsychotics for decades," said Monique Alarcon, attorney for Ms. Brown. "These companies had a duty to inform; they failed, and now individuals nationwide are suffering the consequences. We intend to hold them accountable."

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, alleging strict liability for failure to warn, negligence, and fraud. The case is Brown v. Johnson & Johnson et al (Case No. 25CV119808). Read the complaint here.

The award-winning law firm of Wisner Baum has successfully litigated cases against many of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Since 1985, the firm has earned a reputation for breaking new legal ground, holding corporations accountable, influencing public policy, and raising public awareness on important safety issues. Using its longstanding tradition of success in the courtroom, the firm always strives to expose unsafe products or harmful practices to protect consumers from dangerous products. The firm has won over $4 billion in settlements and verdicts across all practice areas.

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SOURCE Wisner Baum