Although more than 4,000 Actos bladder cancer lawsuits have been filed nationwide, and several bellwether cases are going to trial, no Actos settlement agreements are currently being offered by the drug maker, Takeda Pharmaceuticals. However, an order issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick J. Hanna may change all of this.

Throughout the rest of 2015 and the first part of 2016, a series of Actos bladder cancer settlement conferences are scheduled in the federal court system, which are designed to facilitate agreements to settle Actos lawsuits.

The five formal Actos settlement conferences are scheduled for April 16, Aug. 10 and Oct. 23 of this year and for Jan. 10 and March 18, 2016. During these confidential settlement conferences, parties will negotiate settlements of Actos bladder cancer lawsuits. However, if the settlement group does not reach successful negotiations, then Actos bellwether trials will carry on as planned.

Actos Bellwether Trials

Several Actos bladder cancer lawsuits are expected to go to trial nationwide, and a consolidated federal Actos MDL involving five different Actos lawsuits is scheduled to begin in May 2016. While the outcomes of these bellwether trials are not binding on other claims, they are designed to help the parties gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that is likely to be repeated throughout Actos litigation.

Judge Rebecca F. Doherty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division is presiding over the federal Actos MDL and has already issued a handful of orders in an apparent attempt to streamline the large, complex Actos multidistrict litigation, encourage large-scale settlement negotiations, and prevent duplication of thousands of state court Actos lawsuits.

Actos Bladder Cancer

Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1999, Actos has been prescribed to regulate blood sugar in patients with type-2 diabetes. However, the FDA released a warning in 2011 that long-term Actos use had been associated with the development of bladder cancer. It required a black box warning to alert consumers and doctors of the Actos bladder cancer risk. Because of the risk, drug regulators in both France and Germany have banned the medication.

There are more than 3,500 federal lawsuits pending in the Actos MDL. Another 4,500 plaintiffs have filed Actos lawsuits in the state courts.

At the heart of the Actos bladder cancer lawsuits are allegations of an increased risk of bladder cancer in Actos patients who took the drug for more than one year.

With thousands of Actos lawsuits still pending, the juries sitting on several Actos trials have found that the defendants hid the drug’s health risks. A number of state court juries have already returned multimillion dollar damage awards as a result of the Actos manufacturer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, allegedly failing to warn about the link between Actos and bladder cancer.

In April 2014, in the largest Actos verdict to date, a Louisiana federal jury awarded a plaintiff $9 billion over his Actos bladder cancer claim. Takeda and Eli Lilly successfully had the verdict reduced by over 99 percent, but this still resulted in a $36.8 million award for the plaintiff.

While the award was reduced, it still sent a clear message about the types of awards Actos juries may return if the drug makers fail to reach Actos bladder cancer settlements.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual Actos lawsuit or Actos class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, Actos bladder cancer lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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