• 07
  • January
    2012

The judicial panel in a Louisiana federal court recently announced the consolidation of two dangerous drug lawsuits against Eli Lilly & Co. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.

Both lawsuits accuse the diabetes drug known as Actos of causing bladder cancer or increasing the risk of bladder cancer. In addition, the suits say information about the risks was withheld and warnings were not provided by Eli Lilly and Takeda.

According to a lawyer from New York who is representing the drug's former users, thousands of individuals have inquired about filing lawsuits.

The risks of Actos were discovered back in June by a study sponsored by Takeda and checked by U.S. regulators. Takeda was presented with the lawsuits in July or soon after, and asked for the lawsuit consolidation.

Takeda is Asia's largest maker of drugs and is located in Japan. Currently, Actos has been removed by the company from the market in France and Germany due to the increased risks. According to court reports and the company, 54 more federal lawsuits had been filed in September, and more were added months after.

The location for the case was debated by the plaintiffs' lawyers and Takeda. Chicago and Lafayette were proposed, as well as six other cities.

However, the location of Louisiana was selected because it will apparently be the most convenient and will help create efficient and just conduct, said the panel. A judge was also selected in a federal district with no other pending litigations.

Both cases will be taken on by a U.S. District Judge, who will gather evidence and complete other pretrial proceedings. The lawsuits were sent to the Western District of the state by the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

Source: Bloomberg, "Takeda Actos Cancer Suits Combined in Louisiana Court," U.S. Panel Rules," Margaret Cronin Fisk, December 30, 2011.