Abbott Labs sued over debilitating side effect with Humira

A law suit has been filed against US health care major Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) in a US federal court claiming the firm’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira (adalimumab, also sold by Japan’s Eisai), caused a fungal infection resulting in the near-death of a Tennessee man.

Army veteran Fred Delano was prescribed Humira in October of 2008 for psoriatic arthritis. After taking the drug for two and-a-half months, he was hospitalized and diagnosed with disseminated histoplasmosis, an extremely dangerous side effect infection Abbott allegedly knew could affect Humira users but failed to adequately warn them about.

"Humira is a powerful and potentially dangerous drug. In the absence of proper warnings, it is impossible for a patient to make a well-informed decision whether or not to take a medication," said drug defect attorney Andy Vickery of law firm Perdue Kidd & Vickery. "Even when the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] told Abbott to warn patients, the company chose sales over safety and delayed the warnings. Consequently my client received no warning that the drug he was about to take to help his arthritis would nearly kill him," he added.