A complaint against X was filed in Paris by a victims’ association. Androcur, a drug prescribed against endometriosis, among others, is the cause of tumors.
Amavea, an association of victims of the drug Androcur, filed a complaint against X before the Paris judicial court for endangering others and aggravated deception, this Tuesday, November 5, as indicated by the lawyer and the president of the association with Agence-France-Presse (AFP).
This drug prescribed against endometriosis – or even acne, hair loss and as a means of contraception – and marketed by Bayer is believed to be responsible for several neurological disorders and more particularly brain tumors. According to information from Worldthe complaint targets exactly five offenses: administration of a harmful substance, involuntary harm to the integrity of the person, endangering others, failure to report an adverse effect and aggravated deception.
“This meningioma made me hemiplegic on the right side”
“It is now obvious that those responsible for the safety of Androcur failed in managing the side effects of this drug,” indicate Charles Joseph-Oudin and Emmanuelle Mignaton, president of Amavea, in a press release. It all started in 2003 for Emmanuelle Mignaton.
After taking this medication, she quickly experienced symptoms: “I had very bad headaches, problemsspeech and my right hand was paralyzed”, she explains on RMC. After taking Androcur for seven years, she says she developed five tumors, including one the size of an orange. “This meningioma had made me hemiplegic on the right side. I had lost my speech (…) it plunged me into a fairly significant depression”, she admits in the columns of France Info.
The link between taking Androcur and meningiomas was established in 2018. “However, no information was communicated to prescribing health professionals or patients before 2019,” regrets the association. This is why, “Amavea, representative of thousands of victims, wants an investigation to be carried out to determine the negligence committed and establish the responsibility of the actors involved”, while demanding the appointment of an investigating judge. Furthermore, according to the complaint, “starting in 1998, cases of meningiomas were regularly reported to laboratories marketing Androcur.”
Five other victims must file criminal charges
Between 2009 and 2018, 2,578 women underwent surgery for a meningioma due to taking a progestin-only medication. In fact, meningiomas are tumors of the membranes that surround the brain.
Although they are classified as “benign”, because they are not likely to mutate into fatal cancers, they can, however, cause significant neurological disabilities. “In the coming days, five other patients,victims of the drug, must also file a criminal complaint against X but on an individual basis”, specifies RMC.