Androcur: paralysis, tumors… A complaint about the drug and a health scandal ready to break ?

A complaint against an unknown person was filed in Paris by a victims' association. Androcur, a drug prescribed for endometriosis, among other things, is the cause of tumors.

Amavea, an association of victims of the drug Androcur, filed a complaint against an unknown person 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 to the Agence-France-Presse (AFP).

This drug prescribed for endometriosis – or acne, hair loss and as a means of contraception – and marketed by Bayer is said to be responsible for several neurological disorders and more particularly brain tumors. According to information from Le Monde, the complaint targets exactly five offenses: the administration of harmful substances, the involuntary harm to the integrity of the person, endangering others, failure to report adverse effects and aggravated deception.

“This meningioma had made me hemiplegic on the right side”

“It is now clear that the stakeholders responsible for the safety of Androcur failed in managing the side effects of this drug,” Charles Joseph-Oudin and Emmanuelle Mignaton, president of Amavea, said in a press release. It all started in 2003 for Emmanuelle Mignaton.

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After taking this medication, she quickly felt symptoms: “I had very severe headaches, speech problems and my right hand became paralyzed,” she explained on RMC. After taking Androcur for seven years, she says she developed five tumors, one of which was the size of an orange. “This meningioma had made me hemiplegic on the right side. I had lost my speech (…) “That plunged me into a fairly serious 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 healthcare professionals or patients before 2019”, regrets the association. Here is why, “Amavea, representing thousands of victims, wants an investigation to be conducted to determine the negligence committed and to establish the responsibility of the actors involved”, while demanding the appointment of an investigating judge. Furthermore, according to the complaint, “” Since 1998, cases of meningiomas have been regularly reported to laboratories marketing Androcur.

Five other victims have had to file criminal complaints

Between 2009 and 2018, 2,578 women underwent surgery for meningioma in due to taking a progestin medication. In fact, meningiomas are tumors of the membranes that surround the brain.

Although they are described 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 medication, must file a criminal complaint against an unknown person, but also individual title, specifies RMC.