Lawsuits are being filed by people who took Tepezza for thyroid eye disease and suffered hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), or permanent deafness.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Tepezza induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was diagnosed with hearing loss after using Tepezza, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Drug Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
Tepezza Hearing Loss Lawsuits Consolidated in MDL
In June 2023, a panel of federal judges consolidated several Tepezza hearing loss lawsuits into a Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 3029) in Illinois under U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin. The defendant is Horizon Therapeutics, a drug-maker that is headquartered in Illinois.
The Tepezza MDL is known as IN RE: TEPEZZA MARKETING, SALES PRACTICES, AND PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION.
How Many Lawsuits Have Been Filed?
As of June 2, 2023, the Tepezza litigation consists of around 37 cases, but lawyers expect that many more lawsuits will be filed in the next few years. All of the lawsuits allege that Tepezza causes hearing loss and that Horizon Therapeutics failed to warn patients about the risk.
What is Tepezza?
Tepezza (teprotumumab) is a biologic drug that was approved in January 2020 as the first-ever medication for Thyroid Eye Disease or bulging eyes. This disease is linked to hyperthyroidism and Grave’s disease. It causes the eyes to bulge outward due to inflammation of the eye muscles, fatty tissues behind the eyes, eyelids, or tear glands.
How Profitable Is Tepezza?
Horizon Therapeutics developed Tepezza as a niche treatment for a limited number of patients with a rare disease. However, by its second year on the market, sales hit $1.66 billion, leading some critics to question whether Tepezza was aggressively advertised to patients.
What is the Problem?
Hundreds of people who used Tepezza have developed hearing loss, tinnitus (persistent ringing in the ears), deafness, or other severe hearing side effects that do not go away after they stop Tepezza.
Is My Hearing Loss Permanent?
Hearing loss from Tepezza is linked to damaged hair cells deep inside the inner ear. These cells grow tiny hairs, which vibrate when they are hit by sound waves and convert the sound into signals that go to the brain. If the hair cells are destroyed by a toxic medication, they do NOT re-grow or regenerate. Any hearing problems will be permanent.
Were Patients Warned About the Risk?
The warning label on Tepezza suggested that the risk of hearing problems was low (only around 13% of patients) and temporary.
Instead, within the first few months that Tepezza was on the market, many patients began reporting long-term irreversible hearing damage. In March 2021, a study published by the Endocrine Society found that 65% of patients on Tepezza had hearing loss.
Symptoms of Hearing Loss From Tepezza
Hearing loss may appear as soon as you start Tepezza, or appear gradually. Tinnitus is often the first sign. The symptoms include:
- Difficulty hearing sounds clearly
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Sound distortion
- Asking people to repeat themselves
- Trouble balancing when walking, climbing stairs, etc.
- Trouble walking in the dark
- Falls
- Trouble communicating, not understanding speech, unable to have a conversation on the phone
What Happened?
Tepezza blocks a protein called IGF-1R, which can result in damage to the hair cells that are located deep inside the inner ear. These tiny hairs are critical for hearing and balance. When they are damaged or do not grow back, people may suffer hearing loss.
What is Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss ranges from mild to severe. In the worst cases, both ears fail to transmit sounds to the brain. A person with severe hearing loss (deafness) will not hear any speech and only very loud sounds. This can be devastating for a person’s quality of life.
Medications That Cause Hearing Loss
Medicines that cause hearing loss by damaging the ear are known as ototoxic medications. There are a wide variety of medications that are known to cause hearing loss, including certain antibiotics, anti-malarial drugs, acetaminophen, and NSAID painkillers such as ibuprofen.
Tepezza Lawsuits May End in Settlement Negotiations
Instead of a class action, lawyers are filing individual Tepezza lawsuits for people who lost their hearing.
These lawsuits are being filed nationwide, and then consolidated in a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in Illinois for trial coordination.
Moving forward, judges will choose cases for “bellwether” trials that will go in front of a jury. The outcome of the MDL depends on how the jury responds to these trials. If the jury awards compensation, lawyers may negotiate a settlement, which will help resolve the other lawsuits.
Do I have a Tepezza Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Tepezza induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was diagnosed with hearing loss after using Tepezza, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Drug Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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