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Sacramento Truvada Lawyers

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was wreaking havoc in the United States for many years until Gilead Sciences, Inc., created the medication, Truvada. While Truvada wasn’t a cure, it helped many people living with HIV fight back against a virus that had already taken so much.

Unbeknownst to users of Truvada, however, taking the medication came at a steep price – one much more than what Gilead charged.

Users of Truvada have begun to experience pain and complications within their bones and kidneys, these side effects were not readily noted by the pharmaceutical company. In the face of this negligence, individuals who have taken Truvada to manage their condition, and who have developed debilitating side effects, are coming forward to seek justice against the pharmaceutical giant.

To do so, they will need the help of the experienced Sacramento Truvada lawsuit attorneys from Onder Law Firm. At Onder Law Firm, find comfort in knowing that you are more than just another case. We know your pain is real and we will deliver the quality client care that you deserve.

If you or someone you love is living with HIV and has developed painful bone and kidney complications due to prolonged Truvada use, contact us at (314) 310-7924 for your FREE case review today.

What is Truvada?

First manufactured in 2004, Truvada was created by Gilead Sciences, Inc., to act as antiviral medication for individuals who had contracted HIV. This ambitious achievement was made possible by the active ingredients inside of Truvada working in tandem to help people living with HIV reduce the replication of HIV-infected cells.

These two primary components are:

  1. Emtricitabine (FTC)
  2. Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF)

Out of these two, TDF is the strongest, reducing the activity levels of the enzyme, reverse transcriptase, which helps in the replication of HIV-infected cells. However, to do this, excessive amounts of TDF are required for the drug to be effective. But unbeknownst to the users of Truvada, these excessive amounts of TDF can inflict damage to bones and kidneys.

Gilead, however, was well aware of these potential issues but still sold their defective medications anyway. On several occasions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has come down on the company, warning them of their failure to provide accurate information to consumers, and for also attempting to market the product for a use it had not been intended for.

Still, the company has continued on with its bad faith practices, even raking in billions of dollars in Truvada sales annually.

How Onder Law Firm Can Assist You

When consumers are injured by defective products created and marketed by pharmaceutical companies employing predatory practices, experienced defective drug lawyers can help to bring about the restitution victims need.

When going up against Gilead Sciences, Inc., trust in the dependable and experienced Sacramento Truvada lawsuit attorneys of Onder Law Firm to help secure the justice and financial recovery you need to begin healing. When we begin to investigate your claim, we will focus on understanding exactly how Gilead is liable for their defective drug.

Generally, there are three product liability categories which fit most of our clients’ specific circumstances:

  1. Defective Design – The product that caused the injury was inherently defective by design.
  2. Defective Manufacturing – The product became defective at some point during the manufacturing process.
  3. Failure to Warn Defect – The product was inherently dangerous, but the developer/manufacturer failed to provide adequate warning information, operating instructions, or warranties. Failure to provide this cautionary information can leave the manufacturer liable.

Once the type of product liability claim has been determined, your Truvada lawsuit attorney can help you fight for applicable damages that you may have incurred due to your prolonged Truvada use, including but not limited to:

  • Medical Bills (past, present, and future)
  • Pain and Suffering
  • Lost Wages (past, present, and future)
  • Loss of Earning Capacity
  • Loss of Quality of Life
  • Loss of Consortium
  • Emotional Damages
  • Wrongful Death Damages

The Pain of Prolonged Truvada Use

The amount of TDF within Truvada may inhibit the enzyme responsible for aiding in the replication of HIV-infected cells known as reverse transcriptase, but it also devastates the user’s body, specifically their bones and kidneys. This is made worse if the user already suffers from preexisting conditions affecting those areas.

The considerable amount of TDF in an individual’s body can effectively cause a loss of bone density — a process known as osteopenia — by draining the bones of calcium and other minerals that make them strong. Over time, this loss of minerals can ultimately cause osteoporosis. This condition causes the bones to become brittle, leaving them susceptible to fractures. Some symptoms of this condition that people may experience involve:

  • Extreme discomfort
  • Muscle pain
  • Worsening bone pain

However, bones aren’t the only part of the body affected by excessive amounts of TDF. Kidneys are tasked with filtering TDF out of the body, and TDF can cause these organs to overproduce serum creatinine, signaling the first stages of chronic kidney disease. In time, it could lead to:

  • Abnormal protein levels
  • Acute kidney injury
  • Fanconi’s syndrome
  • Low kidney function
  • Tubular dysfunction
  • Renal failure

If you or someone you love living with HIV has taken Truvada for quite some time and experienced any of the following symptoms of chronic kidney disease, seek out medical attention immediately:

  • Anemia
  • Bruising
  • Changes in skin color
  • Confusion
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Inability to urinate
  • Muscle cramps
  • Nausea
  • Swelling
  • Vomiting
  • Weakness

Once you have received medical attention, recruit an experienced Sacramento Truvada lawsuit attorney from Onder Law Firm to represent you. We will do everything within our power to ensure that you receive full and fair compensation from the greedy pharmaceutical company that injured you.

For unmatched legal representation in your Truvada lawsuit, contact Onder Law Firm at (314) 310-7924 today to get started with a FREE case review.

Recent Litigation Against Gilead Sciences, Inc.

No stranger to past lawsuits, Gilead is now facing more individual lawsuits, as well as a class-action lawsuit filed by two men in California that sustained injury from prolonged Truvada use. In these lawsuits, the two men allege that Gilead had manufactured and marketed the drug knowing full well about its severe side effects by concealing this information from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American people.

However, the deception didn’t stop there. Their lawsuits also allege that Gilead shelved the production of a safer alternative that was being developed around the same time as TDF. This alternative — called tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) — is just as effective as TDF-based products but can be taken at much smaller, much safer doses, thus reducing the likelihood of developing bone or kidney-related health issues.

With this safer alternative in hand, Gilead decided to shelve it as a “new and improved” formula for later marketing endeavors and continued to sell TDF-based medicines until its patent expired in 2015 — this was nearly 14 years of selling a known harmful substance for profit.

Thanks to the bravery of these two men coming forward with their stories, many others user of Truvada have also stepped forward to file product liability claims or join the class-action lawsuit.

Overview of Sacramento HIV Facts and Statistics

The following statistics from Sacramento County Public Health paint a vivid picture detailing the faces of those that are suffering from the virus and are possible victims of Gilead’s scheme. Out of 132 new HIV diagnoses in 2013:

  • 35 (26.5 percent) were African American.
  • 10 (7.6 percent) were Asian/Pacific Islander.
  • 44 (33.3 percent) were Caucasian.
  • 36 (27.3 percent) were Hispanic/Latinx.
  • 7 (5.3 percent) were Unknown or Identified as Other

In 2016, Sacramento County had a total of 4,112 people living with HIV, which was equivalent to 329 individuals living with the virus per 100,000. Out of these numbers:

  • 5 percent were African American.
  • 4 percent were Caucasian.
  • 8 percent were Hispanic/Latinx.
  • 7 percent identified as male.
  • 3 percent identified as female.

The most affected age range in Sacramento County belonged to those ages 55 and over. After that, individuals living with HIV around the ages of 45 to 54 were the next age group greatly affected by the virus.

As for more recent HIV diagnoses, 133 new diagnoses were recorded, remaining nearly consistent with numbers from 2013. In males, contraction of HIV occurred from:

  • 6 percent Male-to-Male Sexual Contact
  • 8 percent Male-to-Male Sexual Contact and Injection Drug Use
  • 1 percent Injection Drug Use
  • 6 Heterosexual Contact

In women:

  • 6 percent Heterosexual Contact
  • 9 percent Injection Drug Use

While it is important to realize that these types of drugs are necessary to fight the growth of HIV, they should be taken at the direction of a doctor. Your medical professional may know of a better alternative to help you prevent the growth and spread of HIV.

With our legal experience, resources, strategies, and over $3 billion in verdicts and settlements won for our clients, we are more than confident that we can win your defective drug claim. Contact the experienced Sacramento Truvada Lawsuit attorneys of Onder Law Firm at (314) 310-7924 for your FREE case review today.

Our team is ready to help you with your Truvada case Call (314) 310-7924

This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. Past results afford no guarantee of future results. Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits. Results include Co-lead counsel on Yaz MDL & co-liaison leadership role in Pradaxa MDL.

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