Consolidation of Actos Lawsuits Into MDL Requested

Actos is the best-selling type II diabetes drug in the world, but over the summer, growing concerns about its possible link to actos bladder cancer reached a crescendo. On June 15, 2011, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety communication stating that use of Actos for more than one year may be associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. That same month, sales of the drug were suspended in France and Germany after a separate study commissioned by French regulators demonstrated an increased risk of bladder cancer associated with actos side effects in people who took it the longest and at the highest cumulative dose. On July 12, Takeda Pharmaceuticals officially recalled Actos from the market in France.

If an Actos MDL is formed, all cases involving allegations that plaintiffs developed bladder cancer from Actos would be transferred to the same judge. In addition, as actos lawyer continue to review and file new complaints in federal courts throughout the United States, those cases would also be transferred into the MDL for pretrial litigation.Actos (pioglitazone) was approved by the FDA to treat Type 2 Diabetes in July, 1999.
It is a once-a-day pill that increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin. The medication has grown in popularity in recent years, after studies linked it’s primary competitor, Avandia, to an increased risk of heart attacks and death. Last year, Actos generated $4.3 billion in sales for Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

Dozens of Actos cases have been filed in various federal district courts throughout the United States by individuals who have developed bladder cancer after taking the type II diabetes drug. All of the complaints involve similar allegations that Takeda Pharmaceuticals failed to warn of Actos side effects that could increase the risk of bladder cancer.So far, at least 54 cases have been filed in federal district courts throughout the U.S. plaintiffs argue that Takeda failed to properly research the medication or warn about the risk.On August 31, plaintiffs in one such lawsuit petitioned the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistriction Litigation for the consolidation, requesting that all pending and future Actos bladder cancer lawsuits in federal courts be transferred to U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois before Judge G. Patrick Murphy.