Janssen Wins Lawsuit Alleging Risperdal Caused Weight Gain, Diabetes

A Massachusetts court ruled in favor of Janssen in a lawsuit that claimed the Johnson and Johnson subsidiary’s antipsychotic Risperdal (risperidone) caused excessive weight gain.

The plaintiff, Emmanuel Jackson, now 30, took the drug from the ages of 11 to 13. During a hospital stay in 2000 due to increased glucose levels, hospital records indicated Jackson’s weight gain of 50 pounds in the previous year and the onset of diabetes mellitus could be due to taking Risperdal.

Jackson also blamed the drug for gynecomastia (male breast growth), which is also the claim made in thousands of currently-pending cases relating to the drug in Pennsylvania. In July, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal on the statute of limitations associated with two such lawsuits, which could impact the rest of the complaints.