In the court case between Gilead Life Sciences, Inc. and The Superior Court of the City and County of San Francisco, identified by court case ID A165558, filed on February 1, 2024, Gilead Life Sciences is challenging the claims made by plaintiffs in JCCP No. 5043. The lawsuit is centered around the development and sale of a drug to treat HIV/AIDS, known as tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), which allegedly caused skeletal and kidney damage to users.
The plaintiffs in this case are a group of approximately 24,000 individuals who allege that they suffered adverse effects from their use of TDF. Gilead Life Sciences developed TDF and obtained approval for its sale from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2001. During its development of TDF, Gilead discovered a similar potential drug called tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF), which plaintiffs claim carried a lower risk of adverse effects.
However, it is alleged that Gilead chose to defer the development of TAF due to concerns that it would reduce its financial return from TDF. The company resumed the development of TAF years later and obtained FDA approval for its sale in 2015. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for injuries caused by their use of TDF but do not assert any claim seeking to prove that TDF is defective.
The plaintiffs are seeking judgment on grounds of ordinary negligence and fraudulent concealment. They contend that Gilead's decision to defer development of TAF breached its duty of reasonable care to users of TDF. Furthermore, they argue that Gilead had a duty to disclose information about TAF to users of TDF.