A law firm in British Columbia started a class action lawsuit against the drug company Gilead Sciences Inc. (Gilead). The lawsuit is about five Gilead drugs used for the prevention and treatment of HIV: Viread, Truvada, Atripla, Complera and Stribild. Each of these drugs contain an ingredient called tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), and the lawsuit claims that TDF can cause kidney damage and bone density loss. The lawsuit also claims that Gilead knew about the side effects and knew that there was a safer alternative to TDF called Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF), but that Gilead delayed and withheld the development and sale of medications with TAF. In addition, the lawsuit claims that some people in Canada who took medications with TDF needlessly suffered side effects.
If you think you or a family member were prescribed and took Viread, Truvada, Atripla, Complera or Stribild in Canada and may have had kidney or bone density-related side effects, you can contact Klein Lawyers LLP, the law firm bringing the lawsuit, at (604) 874-7171 (ask for Claudina Alvarez). You can find more information about the lawsuit on their website: https://www.callkleinlawyers.com/class-actions/current/tdf-drug-injury/. The law firm can also provide you with updates on the class action and can help you access your medical records to prove you took the drugs and had the relevant side effects (you will have to pay the law firm for their help to access your medical records). HALCO is not involved in this class action and does not recommend the services of any law firm.
If you have questions about participating in this lawsuit, you can contact HALCO for free legal advice. If you are living with HIV and have questions about other legal issues, please also contact HALCO. See here for more information about HALCO.
For more information about the class action, please see this pdf.