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Jury Finds Takeda Concealed Actos Bladder Cancer Risks

Jury Finds Takeda Concealed Actos Bladder Cancer Risks

October 2, 2013 — The second Actos lawsuit to go to trial has concluded with a win and a loss for drug-maker Takeda Pharmaceuticals, reports Bloomberg.

The good news for victims of Actos is that this is the second jury to find Takeda liable for failing to warn about bladder cancer. The bad news is that Takeda convinced the judge to throw out the jury’s $1.7 million award to the plaintiff — the second time Takeda has avoided paying damages after losing in court.

The plaintiff, Diep An, was a former translator for the U.S. Army who started using Actos to treat type-2 diabetes in 2007. Four years later, he was diagnosed with “high-grade” bladder cancer, which caused his death in January 2012.

Judge Brooke Murdock threw out the $1.7 million award to An’s family because he smoked cigarettes for 30 years. Lawyers for Takeda presented evidence showing that smoking increases the risk of bladder cancer. Maryland law allowed Judge Murdock to set aside the verdict on those grounds.

Takeda Avoids Paying Jury Award for Second Time

Takeda Pharmaceuticals also avoided paying damages in the first Actos lawsuit to go before a jury. In that case, plaintiff Jack Cooper and his wife, Nancy, were awarded $6.5 million by a state court in California.

Takeda argued that Mr. Cooper’s lawyers did not present enough evidence that his bladder cancer was caused by Actos. They successfully convinced the judge to throw out the $6.5 million verdict, although lawyers have vowed to appeal.

Takeda Facing 3,000 Actos Bladder Cancer Lawsuits

Takeda is facing 1,200 lawsuits in a centralized federal litigation in Louisiana. Thousands of additional claims are pending in other courts throughout the United States. Plaintiffs allege that Takeda concealed information linking Actos to an increased risk of bladder cancer.

In 2010, Takeda was hit with a whistleblower lawsuit filed a Dr. Helen Ge, a former safety consultant who alleged that the company was downplaying adverse event reports linking Actos and bladder cancer.

June 2011, the FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication to warn that a 10-year study found an increased risk of bladder cancer in people who take high-dose Actos for a long period of time.

Do I have an Actos Lawsuit?

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Actos induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by bladder cancer after taking Actos, 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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