Bravelle

In September 2015, Ferring Pharmaceuticals found that the potency of several batches of Bravelle was reduced, and then decided to voluntarily recall them from the market. The Swiss drugmaker later sent out letters to the patients who used it between March 2014 and October 2015, offering them to reimburse the drug’s price.

However, the company did not offer compensation for the significantly higher expenses that many couples had to face to pay for the whole IVF treatment. Our lawyers filed lawsuits arguing that the company never properly warned consumers about the fact that some of the Bravelle batches were not working. According to the litigations, Ferring failed to provide any reliable way to let them know whether they were purchasing doses from recalled lots.

How does Bravelle work?

Bravelle (urofollitropin) is a purified hormone used during In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and as an infertility treatment to stimulate the production and development of follicles (eggs) in the women’s ovaries. It is administered as a subcutaneous injection to increase fertility by assisting the ovulation process.

The medication acts by causing the induction of ovulation. Because of that, it may lead to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) as well as weight gain, hypotension, electrolyte imbalances, and vascular complications. Other side effects reported with the use of this drug include abdominal and pelvic pain, skin rash, alopecia, and a heightened risk of endometrial cancer.

Because of these risks, patients need to be monitored through the entire IVF treatment, forcing many couples to sustain significant expenses in order to travel to distant clinics. 

IVF often is an expensive and time-consuming procedure that may require many cycles over the course of several months.

Is Bravelle Considered a Class Action Lawsuit?

On February 2016, Amanda and Joep Olthuis filed a Bravelle class-action lawsuit in a British Columbia court against Ferring Pharmaceuticals after the woman was injected with an alleged ineffective dose of the infertility drug. The Canadian couple claims that the pharmaceutical company only offered a $2,500 refund, but they had to face an expenditure of about $14,000 to pay the IVF treatment. The two plaintiffs saved money for two years to give Amanda a chance to become pregnant and now cannot afford another cycle.

The couple claims they have never been adequately warned about the possible problems with the lot, and would have never completed the whole several-months-long treatment if they were aware of the risks. Since they had to travel from their hometown Port Moody to the Genesis Fertility Centre in Vancouver, the Olthuis are also asking for additional compensation to repay them for all the out-of-pocket costs they had to face. To date, at least 20 other families who shared similar stories joined the class-action.

Filing a Bravelle lawsuit to get your money back

Even though the drugmaker voluntarily recalled the defective lots and offered a reimbursement to the patients who used them, in later times a larger amount of urofollitropin was also recalled. Many families were left full of doubts on whether the drugs they were injected with was an effective one or not.

Since a full IVF treatment may require several cycles, if the medication is defective the expenses may mount up to much more than just the few thousands of dollars offered by Ferring as compensation. Also, the pharmaceutical company’s website never warned about the chance of not being able to achieve pregnancy due to a possible lack of effectiveness of many Bravelle lots.

If you failed to conceive a baby after one or more full cycles of Bravelle between March 2014 and October 2015, our lawyers may help you seek full recovery for the entire treatment. Do not accept the quick, cheap payment offered by the manufacturer: by doing so you sacrifice your right to receive full compensation for all your suffering and expenses.

Call us now to discuss your legal options with our team of expert attorneys. Your consultation is 100% free and with no obligation.