This class action sues Albertsons Companies, Inc., as well as Safeway, Inc., Better Living Brands, LLC, and LNK International, Inc., which it claims are responsible for two generic medicines under the Signature Care brand: Signature Care Rapid Release Gelcaps and Signature Care PM Rapid Release Gelcaps. The complaint alleges that, despite being marketed and labeled as “rapid release,” the gelcaps actually dissolve more slowly than the companies’ acetaminophen in traditional tablet and caplet form.
A class and a subclass have been defined for this action:
- The Nationwide Class is all persons in the US who, between the beginning of the applicable limitations period and the date of final judgment in this case, bought any of the products at issue in this case.
- The California Subclass is all members of the above class who, between the beginning of the applicable limitations period and the date of final judgment in this case, bought any of the products at issue in this case in California.
According to the complaint, a different company, Johnson & Johnson, introduced two products under the Tylenol brand in the 2000s. One was Tylenol Extra Strength Rapid Release Gels; the other was Tylenol PM Rapid Release Gels. Marketing for the products claimed that the gelcaps were “specially designed with holes to allow the release of powerful medicine even faster than before.”
Tylenol is a brand name for a drug generally known as acetaminophen. The complaint alleges that the two Signature Care products are other versions of these two acetaminophen products.
But the complaint alleges that Albertsons and the other companies responsible for the Signature Care products mislead consumers “about the nature, quality, and effectiveness of the Products.” This is because, despite the “Rapid Release” name, the complaint claims, the gelcaps actually dissolve more slowly than other, more traditional tablets and caplets and do not provide faster pain relief.
A 2018 study, the complaint alleges, shows that the generic acetaminophen rapid release gelcaps sold by a number of companies dissolve more slowly than other non-rapid-release products. The complaint quotes the study as saying, “Results indicate that acetaminophen gelcaps marketed as rapid or fast-release are slower acting under in vitro dissolution conditions compared to the company-matched tablet dose.”
The complaint alleges that the rapid-release gelcaps sell at a higher price than the regular pills. According to the complaint, the companies make the rapid-release claims “to induce consumers to pay more than they would pay for other comparable products that are not falsely labeled with Rapid Release Claims…”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Signature Care “Rapid Release” Acetaminophen Gelcaps Complaint
May 18, 2022
This class action sues Albertsons Companies, Inc., as well as Safeway, Inc., Better Living Brands, LLC, and LNK International, Inc., which it claims are responsible for two generic medicines under the Signature Care brand: Signature Care Rapid Release Gelcaps and Signature Care PM Rapid Release Gelcaps. The complaint alleges that, despite being marketed and labeled as “rapid release,” the gelcaps actually dissolve more slowly than the companies’ acetaminophen in traditional tablet and caplet form.
Signature Care “Rapid Release” Acetaminophen Gelcaps ComplaintCase Event History
Signature Care “Rapid Release” Acetaminophen Gelcaps Complaint
May 18, 2022
This class action sues Albertsons Companies, Inc., as well as Safeway, Inc., Better Living Brands, LLC, and LNK International, Inc., which it claims are responsible for two generic medicines under the Signature Care brand: Signature Care Rapid Release Gelcaps and Signature Care PM Rapid Release Gelcaps. The complaint alleges that, despite being marketed and labeled as “rapid release,” the gelcaps actually dissolve more slowly than the companies’ acetaminophen in traditional tablet and caplet form.
Signature Care “Rapid Release” Acetaminophen Gelcaps Complaint