A meeting of the parties involved in the Risperdal litigation is scheduled for Sept. 16 in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to discuss the status of the numerous pending lawsuit.

Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, faces allegations that its antipsychotic medication Risperdal caused male patients to grow breasts and did not warn users of the possible Risperdal side effects.

According to one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs, items likely to be discussed at the meeting will be new allegations of the medication causing young male patients to develop breast tissue, a condition called gynecomastia. There are approximately 700 product liability cases involving Risperdal that have been filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where the cases are being collected and handled together.

Many of these claims state that surgical intervention was needed to remove the excess breast tissue. These procedures included mastectomy, liposuction, and other procedures. The injured patients allege that they were not told that gynecomastia was a risk when taking Risperdal, and would not have agreed to take the drug if they had known. Additionally, the defendant has been accused of advertising the drug for off-label purposes at least a decade before finally receiving approval.

The meeting in September will also cover what the next step will be in the litigation process.

Overview of Risperdal Complications

Risperdal is an atypical antipsychotic medication that is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 17. It was originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1993 to treat severe mental disorders in adult patients, but was later approved to treat these conditions in children in 2006. The FDA also approved the drug to treat irritability in autistic children from ages 5 to 16. Medical experts state that Risperdal is also frequently prescribed for off-label purposes of treating symptoms associated with ADHD.

According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 27 out of 174 men exposed to Risperdal had developed breast tissue within 60 days. The research was conducted by scientists from University of British Columbia and had analyzed the data of health records of more than 82,000 men, from the years 2001 to 2011 wit subjects being aged between 40 and 85 years old.

According to Risperdal lawsuits, gynecomastia is often the result of an increased ratio of hormones inside the body. While the exact cause of generally-occurring gynecomastia has not been pin-pointed, it has been estimated that 10 percent to 25 percent of all cases have been caused by ill reactions to medications. The development of breasts is caused by a certain amount of a hormone called prolactin, and it has been said that Risperdal increases the levels of this hormone in the patient’s body. Some medical experts theorize that because adolescent patients are still in the stage of development in their lives, which may allow an even greater possibility for the occurrence of male breasts.

The Risperdal side effect of gynecomastia has not been brought up until recently, with Janssen facing allegations of false and deceptive marketing. In November 2013, Johnson & Johnson agreed to a $2.5 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice involving claims that the company had promoted Risperdal and several other medications for unapproved purposes.