Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 6, 1991 TAG: 9102060448
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Erma J. Marshall's lawsuit is the second filed in U.S. District Court in Roanoke against Showa Denko America Inc., the manufacturer of L-tryptophan.
A Roanoke County woman filed suit in December, alleging that she was diagnosed with various adverse reactions to L-tryptophan after using the product in 1989.
L-tryptophan - an amino acid used to treat insomnia, depression and obesity - was ordered off the market after it was linked to an outbreak of a rare blood disorder called eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome.
The syndrome has struck 1,500 people, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control, and the outbreak has been traced to Showa Denko. A study by Minnesota scientists linked the deaths to a change in how the supplement was made.
The health threat resulted in all L-tryptophan-based products being removed from the market in March.
Marshall's lawsuit charges Showa Denko and three suppliers and distributors - Goldline Laboratories, Nutro Laboratories Inc. and Alco Health Services Corp. Inc. - with negligence, breach of warranty and failure to warn consumers of dangers linked to the use of L-tryptophan.
Marshall, who says in her suit that she, too, was diagnosed with adverse reactions to L-tryptophan, is asking for $6 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.
Bob Schwadron, a spokesman for Showa Denko, said Tuesday that Marshall's is one of more than 100 lawsuits that have been filed against the manufacturer since the health risks of L-tryptophan were made public.
None of the lawsuits has gone to trial but some have been settled out of court, Schwadron said. He declined to disclose the amounts of those settlements.
The company, "out of concern for people with EMS and for their families," has started research programs to help identify the cause of EMS, Schwadron said.
"This research should enable the medical community to find effective research and, eventually, a cure," he said.
Showa Denko has provided six grants totaling $970,000 to various research institutions and $300,000 to the Public Health Foundation toward the establishment of an EMS hot line and treatment registry, Schwadron said.
by CNB