Takeda May Face 10,000 Actos Bladder Cancer Lawsuits

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According to recent estimates, Asia’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer may face as many as 10,000 legal claims against its blockbuster diabetes drug Actos in the United States alone. An FDA analysis of a study sponsored by Takeda found that Actos users faced an increased risk of developing potentially fatal cases of bladder cancer. Actos is currently the world’s best-selling diabetes drug, generating sales of nearly $5 billion in 2010 alone.

Actos Update 4/27/12: The Canadian province of Ontario is limiting patient access to Actos due to the risk of bladder cancer that has become increasingly linked to the drug. The Ontario Public Drug (OPD) program has announced that it is removing Actos from its list of approved drugs, which means that in the future patients will need to go through special steps in order to obtain the medication. Click here to learn more.

Actos Bladder Cancer Update 4/24/12: Last week, Health Canada announced that it was requiring new bladder cancer warnings to be added to labels of Actos. The move came following a safety review of the drug that was launched last year, when the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) required similar warnings for Actos in this country. Click here to learn more.

Free Actos Bladder Cancer Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with bladder cancer after taking Actos, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a suit against Takeda Pharmaceuticals and we can help.

What’s the problem?

December 20, 2011 – In light of the new evidence connecting Actos to bladder cancer, Takeda officials pulled the drug off the market in Germany and France in June. The pharmaceutical giant has so far declined to comment on the projected impact of the lawsuits on the company, and whether it plans to set aside funds for the pending litigation.

Given Actos’ massive rise in popularity following the demise of Avandia, plaintiffs’ lawyers have stated that they expect up to 10,000 or more former Actos users to file complaints against Takeda. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) recalled Avandia from European markets and reigned in sales in the U.S. in 2007 after studies found the drug posed a greater risk of heart attacks and strokes than Actos.

To date, GSK has paid out more than $6 billion in defective drug lawsuits, the vast majority of which involve Avandia. In the wake of the controversy surrounding Avandia, Actos’s sales skyrocketed from approximately $3 billion in 2006 to nearly $5 billion last year.

According to many familiar with these issues, Actos bladder cancer lawsuits are likely to be different from claims against Avandia because the alleged injuries tend to be far more pronounced. Bladder cancer is considered to be a distinctive injury because there are not a lot of other variables that can cause the disease. With a heart attack or stroke, there are a number of other potential causes at play.

Before consolidating the Actos litigation into a single jurisdiction, judges on the Multi-District Litigation (MDL) panel will hear arguments regarding which federal court should be selected. Under an MDL, similar cases can be centralized before one judge for pretrial exchange of information. This action is intended to save money and time by streamlining the litigation process to avoid duplicate discovery and pretrial rulings.

Do You Have an Actos Bladder Cancer Lawsuit?

The Product Liability & Defective Drug Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Actos lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new bladder cancer cases in all 50 states.

Free Actos Bladder Cancer Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with bladder cancer after taking Actos, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing an Actos bladder cancer suit and we can help.