Three Texas Men Sue over Reglan Tardive Dyskinesia

Marshall, TXThree plaintiffs are taking a handful of defendants to court over the emergence of Parkinson's, Reglan tardive dyskinesia and another condition allegedly caused by the long-term use of metoclopramide (Reglan). According to the March 2 issue of the Southeast Texas Record, the plaintiffs claim they had no idea that using the drug over the long haul would trigger such debilitating adverse reactions.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises that Reglan, together with generic forms of metoclopramide, shouldn't be taken for any longer than 12 weeks (three months) unless it is absolutely unavoidable and only in the rarest of cases. To that end, the FDA updated the product labeling for Reglan to include a black box warning regarding a risk for tardive dyskinesia in association with prolonged use above 12 weeks.

Plaintiff Ronald Cherry claimed that he had used Reglan for about 10 years, and developed the uncontrollable movements often associated with Reglan and tardive dyskinesia. Plaintiff J.E. Godwin was diagnosed with tardive dyskinesia in mid 2009 after taking Reglan from September 2008 until March 2010.

Donnie Collins is the third plaintiff in the Reglan lawsuit. He claims to have begun exhibiting abnormal movements after using Reglan to ease gastroesophageal reflux disease from February 2002 to September 2003. He claims to have begun experiencing his symptoms six years after stopping the drug, and was subsequently diagnosed with Reglan-induced Parkinson's disease, as well as Orobuccolingual dyskinesia and tardive dyskinesia in mid-2009.

The Reglan lawsuit accuses the defendants of negligence associated with the development, testing, design and manufacturing of metoclopramide, together with the failure to provide adequate warnings as to the drug's shortcomings and various Reglan side effects.

The Reglan lawsuit was filed February 23 in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division. Defendants include Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.; Pliva Inc., formerly known as Sidmark Laboratories Inc.; Pliva D.D.; Barr Pharmaceuticals (formerly known as Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.); Barr Laboratories Inc.; and Watson Laboratories Inc. and Richmond Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Reglan and tardive dyskinesia have been increasingly associated with one another, and this association remains a major concern for those patients using the drug for the treatment of acid reflux—a condition that for many is chronic. And yet the risk for tardive dyskinesia increases after just three months of use. A condition once associated with the elderly, involuntary movements associated with tardive dyskinesia have been known to affect younger patients in the prime of their careers—work lives that have been adversely affected by a condition for which there is no known cure…