Butler v. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA

Consumers trust that the prescription drugs they buy are properly made and are what their doctors prescribed. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc. broke that trust. Glenmark promised consumers that its extended-release potassium chloride was made according to FDA requirements and was equivalent to other FDA-approved drugs, but it was not. Instead, Glenmark’s potassium chloride could dissolve too quickly, making it ineffective as an “extended-release” drug and putting patients’ health at risk. After learning of the issue, the FDA required Glenmark to issue a Class I recall, the most serious kind where there is a “reasonable probability” of “serious adverse health consequences or death.” And Glenmark’s recall notice explained that its defective potassium chloride could expose patients to consequences including “cardiac arrythmias, severe muscle weakness, and death.”

In August 2024, The Block Firm filed a class action lawsuit against Glenmark, seeking to recover economic damages on behalf of a class of consumers who purchased Glenmark’s recalled or otherwise adulterated potassium chloride. When people went to the pharmacy to fill their prescriptions, they were paying to get good drugs that did what their doctor wanted—not bad drugs that could hurt or kill them. Through our class claims, we seek to hold Glenmark accountable for charging people for drugs that were worthless and require the company to pay consumers back for their purchases.

Glenmark’s misconduct is not an isolated incident or an accident. Instead, it is part of a pattern and practice of making defective drugs in the company’s Indian manufacturing plants that Glenmark then tries to sell into the United States market. This conduct has led to multiple warning letters from the FDA and to one of Glenmark’s plants being banned from importing anything into the country entirely. We are proud to stand up to big pharmaceutical companies like Glenmark that put profits above patient health. We will post key documents and case developments here.