Arizona attorney general sues thyroid drug maker

Arizona's top attorney sued a thyroid drug maker, saying the company lied about the potency of its medication and the harmful effects on consumers. The lawsuit, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, Tuesday also claims the company broke its promise to fully refund customers.

Arizona-based drug manufacturer RLC Labs makes Nature-Throid and WP Thyroid, prescription drug tablets used to treat hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism, a common condition in which a person's thyroid gland doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone, can lead to weight gain, fatigue and sensitivity to the cold, according to the Mayo Clinic.

In 2020, the Food and Drug Administration recalled RLC Labs' pills, saying some samples were "sub-potent" and "may have as low as 87% of the labeled amount of Liothyronine or Levothyroxine." More commonly referred to as T3 and T4, liothyronine and levothyroxine replace the hormone not produced by the thryoid in patients with an underactive thyroid. The recall included nearly 358 million pills sold between 2017 and 2020.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich's Dec. 27 lawsuit says the low potency violates United States Pharmacopeia standards that say the tablets should have at least 90% of the labeled T3 and T4 amounts. "Inaccurate dosages could lead to serious adverse health effects," the lawsuit says.

RLC Labs paused manufacturing after the recall and offered refunds, but the lawsuit claims the company falsely told customers it had received no reports of adverse events.

Instead, "dozens of consumers made reports about Nature-Throid in the month of September 2020 alone," the lawsuit claims.

The complaint also says the manufacturer's "refund process was poorly publicized, burdensome, and confusing." On the manufacturer's website, consumers are directed to "contact the point of purchase (physician or pharmacy) to return your products and receive a refund."

In a statement Thursday, Brnovich said, “Consumers need to be able to trust what drug manufacturers say about their products."

The lawsuit seeks compensation for customers and "to prohibit RLC from future misconduct."

RLC Labs could not be contacted. Its website says as of September 2020, "RLC Labs moved swiftly to employ the help of top FDA experts in exploring every possible option to make the improvements to our quality system for manufacturing product that are necessary to ensure that all product we distribute meets our high standards."

"RLC Labs embraces our continued vision to be the leading manufacturer of natural thyroid medication. We have always strived to provide the highest quality thyroid medications and to be the industry leader."

RLC's mission, as stated on its website is "to supply the highest quality medications for hypothyroidism." The company is based in Phoenix.