Takeda Loses Second Actos Trial Over Bladder Cancer Risks

A Maryland state court jury ordered Takeda Pharmaceuticals to pay $1.7 million in damages for failing to properly warn a former US Army translator and his physician about the risk of cancer associated with the Actos diabetes drug. Starting in 2007, Diep An took the medication but was diagnosed with bladder cancer four years later.  However, under Maryland law, the verdict was set aside immediately because the jury also found An contributed to his own death. How so? He smoked for 30 years and “failed to exercise reasonable and ordinary care for his own health and safety, and that his failure was a substantial factor in causing him to develop bladder cancer.” Mealey’s News Service notes. Just the same, the outcome is not encouraging for the drugmaker. This was the second such lawsuit concerning the medicine to go to trial in which Takeda was found to have hidden risks. In April, a California jury ordered Takeda to pay $6.5 million in damages to a man who developed bladder cancer, but a judge tossed the verdict after deciding an expert witness was not reliable. The family appealed. Of course, there are many more cases to go. There are some 3,000 lawsuits stacked up in courts around the country charging that the risk of developing cancer was ignored or that concerns were downplayed before Actos went on sale in the US in 1999. Although Takeda may take comfort in having verdicts thrown out or set aside, its track record in convincing juries is, so far, not going well. Two ye...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs