The opening hearing in the multidistrict litigation, or “MDL”, against the manufacturer of Actos will be held about eight months after the first suit was filed. Judge Rebecca Doherty in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Louisiana, who has been assigned to preside over the combined Federal lawsuits, issued an order on February 13 that scheduled a status conference be held March 22. In her order, Judge Doherty stated she planned to appoint lead attorneys to oversee the federal cases, which were consolidated due to the similarity of their claims.
The conference will be the first court action in the litigation against the Takeda Pharmaceuticals American Inc., the U.S. arm of the Japanese pharmaceutical company that created and manufactures Actos.. The drug is marketed as a treatment for diabetes patients, but several users say they developed bladder cancer as a result of taking it. Takeda faces thousands of already filed and potential lawsuits from patients who accuse the company of selling the drug despite the cancer risk. The company is also accused of covering up information about the connection between Actos and bladder cancer, and of failing to warn doctors and patients.
Thousands more patients have filed lawsuits at the state level in California and Illinois. Similarly on the state level, Plaintiffs who have filed an Actos bladder cancer lawsuit in California may see their cases transferred to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Lawsuits alleging Actos side effects were consolidated there on January 4, 2012. In a recent order, presiding Judge Lee Smalley Edmon ruled that Judge Jane L. Johnson will oversee the coordinated proceedings. On both the Federal and State level, coordination usually serves to ensure that each lawsuit proceeds in an efficient manner, while reducing the possibility of inconsistent rulings and duplicate discovery and testimony.
After the June 2011 FDA warning about the risk of Actos cancer, along with the French Actos recall that occurred during the same time period, more people have become aware of the potential link between the disease and the diabetes drug. The first lawsuit against Takeda related to a case of bladder cancer allegedly due to Actos was filed in July 2011.
Some researchers have found that taking the drug for more than a year increases a patient's risk of developing bladder cancer, a serious and potentially fatal disease that can require invasive surgery to treat.
As a patient who was prescribed Actos, either for diabetes glucose management or any other reason, you need to be aware of the increased risk of Actos bladder cancer that taking Actos brings. If you have Actos bladder cancer, or believe that you may have Actos bladder cancer, please contact me at booths@pittmandutton.com or call toll free 1-866-515-8880.
