Ala. Federal Magistrate Judge Says Learned Intermediary Doctrine Bars Claims in Risperdal Action

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama federal magistrate judge has recommended an award of summary judgment to Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a Risperdal action, finding the learned intermediary doctrine bars claims that the drug maker failed to warn doctors that the drug can cause abnormal breast growth in adolescent males.

On April 4, Magistrate Judge David A. Baker of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama referred to the prescribing doctors’ testimony that they chose to prescribe Risperdal after weighing the risks and benefits of the drug and were aware that gynecomastia has been reported in patients receiving …