Patricia Vosburgh filed suit against Acella Pharmaceuticals, LLC and Walgreen Co. on Wednesday in the Middle District of Florida. The complaint was filed for an alleged personal injury on behalf of Vosburgh, who used Acella’s “dangerously defective” prescription drug, NP Thyroid. The drug is intended to treat hypothyroidism by either replacing or supplementing the thyroid hormone.
Vosburgh emphasizes that the prescription lacks a warning to patients, the healthcare community, and the medical community of the harmful effects that accompany the drug. The risks, as told by the plaintiff, include “improper dosage and/or excessive levels of liothyronine and levothyroxine,” each of which come with a host of side effects. Vosburgh also alleges that the defendants failed to disclose the link between NP Thyroid and atrial fibrillation, hypertension, chest pain, rapid heart rate/heart rhythm disturbances, weight loss, heat intolerance, fatigue, muscle weakness, and negative maternal and fetal outcomes such as miscarriage and impairment to fetal development.
The complaint details three instances in which Acella was forced to issue a nationwide recall of the disputed drug. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in May of 2020 that defendant Acella would be issuing a “voluntary nationwide recall” of NP Thyroid because of superpotency, or high levels of liothyronine. Another recall was issued four months later due to sub-potency. April of 2021 marked another recall, when certain lots of NP Thyroid were found to have “less than 90% of the active ingredients liothyronine and/or levothyroxine as claimed on the bottle labels.”
NP Thyroid was distributed absent FDA approval or a valid biologics license. Vosburgh is suing the defendants for personal injuries based on the “sale, design, manufacture, testing, marketing, labeling, packaging, handling, distribution, storage, and/or sale of NP Thyroid.” The complaint includes two counts of strict product liability, negligence, and breach of express and implied warranty. Vosburgh is seeking a trial by jury, favorable judgement on all counts, compensatory, statutory, and economic damages, and any other relief that the plaintiff may be legally or equitably entitled to.
The plaintiff is represented by The Whittemore Law Group.
