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Billion-Dollar Lawsuit Against Actos Resumes Today
The multibillion-dollar trial against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, over Actos and the Type 2 diabetes drug’s link to bladder cancer, resumes today after a two-week hiatus, with experts ready to deliver potentially damaging testimony against the drugmaker.
Bertha Triana, 80, and Delores Cipriano, 81, say they developed bladder cancer after taking Actos. Their attorneys are expected to call experts who will testify about the number of warnings Takeda officials ignored or hid that indicated the drug could lead to bladder cancer.
The two women, who have diabetes, filed suit in Las Vegas courts in December 2013 against Takeda, claiming the company concealed its knowledge of the drug’s bladder cancer risks from physicians and patients.
Also today, a jury in Louisiana will hear closing arguments in the first federal Actos bladder cancer case that began Feb. 3. If the plaintiff, Terrance Allen, wins the bellwether case of this federal multidistrict litigation (MDL), it could pave the way to a global settlement if Takeda is found guilty of gross negligence.
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Compelling Testimony at Las Vegas Trial
Jury selection for the trial in Las Vegas started Feb. 10.
The trial is expected to last until June. It has been in recess the past two weeks, after a compelling start. Testimony given during the first two weeks alleged Takeda officials engaged in “spoliation of evidence” linking Actos to bladder cancer.
Spoliation involves the intentional or negligent hiding, modifying or destroying of evidence relevant to a legal case.
Cipriano was diagnosed with bladder cancer in July 2012 after taking Actos for approximately 14 months. Triana took the drug for two years before her May 2012 bladder cancer diagnosis.
Lawyers for Cipriano say she has undergone two surgeries to remove tumors. Triana has had four operations to remove bladder tumors and is undergoing her third round of chemotherapy, her lawyers said.
More Than 3,000 Lawsuits Filed
Takeda is facing more than 3,000 federal lawsuits over failing to adequately warn patients the Type 2 diabetes drug could cause bladder cancer.
A California jury awarded a former Actos user and bladder cancer victim $6.5 million in May 2013. However, the judge in the case threw out the verdict, saying the plaintiff did not demonstrate a link between Actos and cancer. The case is under appeal.
Four months later, a Maryland jury granted a victim’s family $1.7 million after he died from bladder cancer. His attorneys said his death was the result of taking Actos four years prior to his diagnosis.
The judge in that case immediately set aside the verdict based on Maryland law because the victim also was a smoker for 30 years prior to dying of cancer.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in 2011 that using Actos for more than one year could be associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. The French and German governments banned the drug after the FDA’s announcement.
Reference - http://www.drugwatch.com/2014/04/07/actos-trial-las-vegas/
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