Tepezza Lawyers Seek Leadership Roles in Recently Formed MDL for Hearing Loss Lawsuits

The U.S. District Judge recently appointed to preside over all federal Tepezza lawsuits has been asked to appoint a group of lawyers to serve in various leadership positions in the litigation, taking certain actions during the coordinated pretrial proceedings that benefit all plaintiffs who suffered hearing loss or ringing in the ears from the thyroid eye disease drug.

Tepezza (teprotumumab-trbw) is a new-generation biologic treatment introduced by Horizon Therapeutics in January 2020, as the first medication approved to treat thyroid eye disease or bulging eyes, which is caused by hyperthyroidism and linked to Graves’ disease, resulting in inflammation of eye muscles, eyelids, tear glands and fatty tissues behind the eye.

Although Tepezza infusions were originally intended as a niche treatment, with only a limited market, during the second year the drug was on the market in the United States sales doubled to $1.66 billion, and critics have expressed concern that Tepezza was aggressively marketed without adequately disclosing all of the potential risks.

Hundreds of former users are now coming forward to report that they experienced various forms of hearing loss side effects from Tepezza, including persistent ringing in the ears known as tinnitus, and complete hearing loss. In many cases, the problems persist long after the thyroid eye disease treatments, leaving users with irreversible hearing damage.

A Tepezza multidistrict litigation (MDL) was established earlier this month, centralizing complaints filed throughout the federal court system before U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin in the Northern District of Illinois for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

To help manage the growing litigation, Tepezza lawyers filed a motion (PDF) on June 12, proposing a slate of attorneys to serve in leadership positions in the Tepezza MDL. The unopposed motion calls for three attorneys to serve as co-lead counsel, one liaison counsel, and an eight-person executive committee.

If approved, these Tepezza lawyers appointed to leadership positions will take certain actions that benefit all cases, including conducting discovery and depositions into common issues that impact all claims, arguing motions before the court and potentially negotiation Tepezza hearing loss settlements which establish a framework to resolve all claims. However, each individual plaintiff will maintain their own lawyer to meet various deadlines and establish a link between their specific injuries and the thyroid eye disease drug, as well as negotiate any potential Tepezza lawsuit payout.

As part of the coordinated management of the Tepezza lawsuits, it is expected that Judge Durkin will establish a “bellwether” program, where a small group of representative cases are prepared for early trial dates, to help the parties gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout various cases in the litigation.

If no Tepezza settlement agreement or other resolution is reached during the MDL pretrial proceedings, each individual claim may later be remanded back to the U.S. District Court where it was originally filed for trial.