The opening shots have been fired in the massive legal action against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, alleging that their popular diabetes medication, Actos, causes bladder cancer.

Actos is a drug designed to help control blood sugar levels in people with type-2 diabetes. However, various research studies, along with an overwhelming number of bladder cancer lawsuits, have made the claim that this drug can radically increase a patient’s risk of developing bladder cancer. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a series of announcements back in 2011, stating the federal agency was reviewing data suggesting that Actos could cause bladder cancer. This FDA investigation culminated in changes to Actos’s labeling in August of 2011.

So many Actos bladder cancer lawsuits have been filed that the U.S. court system has resorted to a process called a multidistrict litigation or MDL, which has consolidated and coordinated the various Actos lawsuits together. In MDLs, the court system uses individual Actos lawsuits to establish precedents that can later apply to all of the cases within the MDL. This procedure can help streamline the legal process and saves time, money, and resources for all parties involved by avoiding duplicating lengthy trials, presentations of evidence, and other costly parts of the legal process.

Actos Bladder Cancer Bellwether Trials

The first handful of cases tried in an MDL are called bellwether trials. These Actos bladder cancer bellwether cases determine key elements that may apply to all of the other Actos lawsuits with their precedents. In January 2015, one such case was heard to determine if Actos was the actual cause of patients’ bladder cancer. The makers of Actos, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, argued that correlation does not imply causation, a veritable battle cry of statisticians everywhere. However, juries in other Actos bladder cancer cases within the MDL have ruled that Takeda suppressed evidence of a link between Actos and bladder cancer.

At least eight Actos bladder cancer lawsuits have gone to trial thus far. In West Virginia, an Actos lawsuit ruled that Takeda had destroyed documents about the potential risk of bladder cancer associated with Actos. However, this case was outside of the MDL proper. The first case within the Actos MDL actually awarded a $9 billion award for punitive damages over allegations that Takeda and Eli Lilly suppressed information about Actos bladder cancer risks. A judge later cut the award down to a mere $36.8 million, but Takeda has stated they intend to appeal the ruling. Since this was the first bellwether case in the MDL to go to trial, the case’s outcome could have profound impacts on the rest of the Actos bladder cancer lawsuit sin the MDL.

The Actos MDL is In Re: Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2299, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

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.

Learn More