It’s a sad situation when an adult is injured by a defective product or a bad drug, it’s tragic when an infant is hurt. That’s the case with Topamax, a drug touted to treat migraines and epilepsy. Unfortunately, besides treating these conditions pregnant women have exposed their unborn children to a devastating birth defect-cleft palate.
As a birth injury lawyer, I believe the manufacturer of Topamax along with its generic equivalents, knew about these devastating side effects. Topamax is manufactured by Ortho-McNeil Neurologics. Since the drug has been on the market so long, there are generic equivalents of Topamax (topiramate) made by pharmaceutical companies such as Apotex Corporation, Aurobindo Pharma, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Roxane Laboratories, Inc., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.
Soon after its introduction to the marketplace in 1998, the FDA became concerned that Topamax was being marketed for uses not specifically approved by the federal regulatory agency. This concern led to a criminal probe and Johnson and Johnson paid $81 million in fines and pled guilty to misdemeanor criminal conduct for “misbranding” Topamax.
Criminal behavior that hurts adults, that’s one thing but when criminal behavior injures innocent babies, that’s quite another, that’s unforgivable.