In May 2018, a class action, as well as multiple personal injury cases, were filed against Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead), for claims surrounding the promotion of the manufacturer’s TDF HIV/AIDs drugs.

The allegations included:

• Gilead’s marketing and distribution of the TDF drugs, when a safer alternative (TAF) was known;
• Failure to adequately warn of the potential risks; and,
• Misrepresentation of the drugs’ safety and efficacy.

Currently, Plaintiffs allege kidney and bone injuries as a result of their use of the TDF drugs.

The lawsuits also asserted that Gilead purposely suppressed the marketing and distribution of the safer alternative, TAF, in order to benefit from the patent on its TDF drugs.

As previously discussed, the TDF drugs include: Truvada, Atripla, Complera, Stribild, and Viread.

Following the May 2018 filings, Gilead filed a demurrer, seeking to dismiss all of plaintiffs’ legal theories. Recently, in February 2019, a California court denied Gilead’s request. The held that plaintiffs may proceed on all of their tort claims, except for strict liability. This was a big win for plaintiffs.

Based on the court’s ruling, we expect to see an increase in the number of cases being filed from around the country.