The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against RLC Labs, an Arizona-based manufacturer of natural thyroid prescription drug tablets, for making false or misleading statements about its drug products.
“Consumers need to be able to trust what drug manufacturers say about their products,” said Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “Throughout my time as attorney general, my office has been committed to protecting customers from false or misleading statements.”
The lawsuit alleges that RLC Labs made false advertisements about the potency of two natural thyroid drugs: Nature-Throid and WP Thyroid.
RLC had manufactured and sold natural thyroid prescription drug tablets to treat hypothyroidism, under the brand names Nature-Throid and WP Thyroid. The company had advertised that its Nature-Throid and WP Thyroid tablets contain a certain amount of liothyronine and levothyroxine, which are the active ingredients. In August 2020, the FDA reported that certain samples of Nature-Throid and WP Thyroid contained less than the advertised amounts of liothyronine or levothyroxine. Shortly after the FDA’s report, RLC halted manufacturing of Nature-Throid and WP Thyroid and recalled all unexpired lots of these tablets.
Although RLC Labs recalled the drugs and offered refunds, the lawsuit alleges that RLC Labs continued to make false or misleading statements. For example, RLC Labs falsely stated that there were “no reports of adverse events” related to the drugs, and the manufacturer purported to offer a “full refund” to consumers who purchased the drugs but failed to follow through on that promise.
The complaint seeks to secure full compensation for consumers who purchased the recalled drugs, establish a reasonable process for providing such compensation, and prohibit RLC Labs from future misconduct.