AIDS, a disease caused by HIV, remains one of the leading causes of deaths on a global scale. WHO, which stands for the World Health Organization, stated that since the epidemic started in San Francisco in 1981, 75 million people have been infected and 32 million of them died. At the end of 2018, approximately 37.9 million people were living with HIV.
So when people were given the opportunity to make their lives easier even if they won’t completely cure them, they jumped right into it. This ‘chance’ was called Truvada – a drug used in the prevention of the transmission and the treatment of the HIV virus. The main components of the so-called lifesaver were emtricitabine (FTC) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF).
What they didn’t know is that instead of being a remedy to their pain, it will become the cause of their misery. It turns out that the medication causes severe side effects, of which both the doctors and the patients were not aware of. Now, the company that manufactures the drug is facing the consequences of their tactics, one of those aftermaths being a Truvada lawsuit.
But let’s start from the beginning.
What is Truvada, and what is the big deal?
Truvada, as already mentioned above, is a medication used in the treatment and prevention of the transmission of HIV. It is usually taken by the partners of people who are already infected with the virus.
It was proven that TDF, which is one of the main components, is very dangerous to the human body. Taking the drug regularly might result in complications with your kidneys, bone injuries like osteoporosis, or lactic acidosis.
What is going on with Truvada Lawsuits?
After realizing the severe side effects can cause by Truvada. Patients from all over the country (but not only), started to file lawsuits against Gilead Sciences INC., and that includes a group of patients from California who filed a class-action lawsuit against them.
The lawsuits can be divided into two types:
- Failure of warning – every patient has a right to know what could happen if they will be taking a specific medicine. In this case, the accusers claim that the company failed to inform them about the possible side effects and therefore put their health and life in danger. What makes this case even stranger, is that Gilead Science INC. was on several occasions warned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the harmful effects of the medicine. And the company was told to stop releasing untruthful claims that the drug is safe. The same agency approved Truvada back in 2012.
- Withhold of a safer version – another thing that the company is accused of is that they knew about the more reliable version of TDF called TAF. But they decided to postpone the reveal of it until the patent for TDF was almost due to expire. The research has been conducted as early as 2004, but the results were published only in 2010.
What can the victims do?
Firstly, don’t be afraid to fight for something that is rightfully yours. If you or any of your loved ones have taken Truvada and been affected by the side effects, you have the right to file a lawsuit.
To do that you will need two things – evidence and Truvada Lawsuit Attorney. You need to prove that you have taken Truvada, and because of that, you have suffered from severe side effects that it can cause. The attorney will help you in winning the case. As some people to save money, decided to handle it on their own and didn’t get the compensation they deserve.
If you plan on filing a lawsuit, you also need to remember that it has a time limit, so make sure that you will fit into it. The duration of the time limit might differ – everything depends on the state you live in. Usually, the time limit is two years, but do yourself a favour and check it.
In conclusion, the case of Truvada and Gilead Science INC. is the perfect example of how some companies will always choose material things. Like the profit above, other things like people and their lives are of no concern.