October 3, 2014 — Takeda Pharmaceuticals has been ordered to pay $2 million to a woman who took the company’s diabetes drug Actos and developed bladder cancer, according to Bloomberg.
The three-week trial ended with five hours of deliberation, in which 8 out of 9 jurors agreed that Takeda failed to adequately warn Frances Wisniewski and her doctors about the risk of bladder cancer from Actos.
Takeda argued that Wisniewski’s cancer was caused by smoking cigarettes. They also tapped an FDA official as their expert witness. Dr. David Feigel, Jr. told the jury that the label on Actos contained all relevant information about bladder cancer, according to Law360.
Wisniewski’s attorneys argued that relevant information was not highlighted in the “Warnings” section of the label, but instead buried under a section describing carcinogenic and mutagenic data.
The popularity of Actos plummeted in 2011, shortly after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Safety Communication linking Actos with a 40% increased risk of bladder cancer compared to non-users.
Before that warning, Takeda was raking in about $4.5 billion per year on Actos and it made up 30% of the company’s revenue. Attorneys argued that Takeda downplayed evidence of bladder cancer to protect corporate profits, at the expense of public safety. Takeda also destroyed documents on 46 employees involved in the development and marketing of Actos.
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The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Actos induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with bladder cancer, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Drug Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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