Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. and Eli Lilly continue to face an onslaught of product liability lawsuits over their diabetes drug Actos, which studies have linked to a 40% increased risk of bladder cancer in people who use the drug for more than one year.

Earlier this year a federal jury awarded $9 billion in damages to an Actos user who was diagnosed with bladder cancer after using the drug. In his Actos lawsuit, plaintiff Terrance A. claimed that executives knew that Actos causes bladder cancer due to preclincial trials but hid this information from the public.

In late October, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty sided granted a motion from the drug makers to reduce the $9 billion Actos settlement award, calling it “excessive” and a violation of the companies’ constitutional rights to due process.

Instead, Judge Doherty ordered Takeda to pay $27.6 million and Eli Lilly to pay $9.2 million for a total of $36.8 million. Doherty said that, while far smaller than the jury’s original award, the reduced punitive damages were still “large enough to accomplish the jury’s clear aim: to send a message to the defendants that their wrongdoing must stop…”

Because she found no prejudice on the part of the jury, the judge denied the drug makers’ request for a new trial. The Actos verdict, reported as the seventh-largest punitive damages award in U.S. history, sustained the plaintiff’s claims that Actos manufacturers Takeda and Eli Lilly had concealed the risks of bladder cancer carried by the drug from physicians and consumers.

Actos and Bladder Cancer

Takeda Pharmaceutical and Eli Lily jointly launched Actos (pioglitazone) in 1999 as an oral medication used to regulate blood sugar levels in patients with type-2 diabetes. Actos is one of the top-selling drugs for Takeda, accounting for approximately 27% of their revenue. The partnership ended in 2006, with Lilly retaining rights to sell Actos in parts of Asia and Europe as well as in Canada and Mexico. Actos’ sales peaked in in 2010-11 at $4.5 billion.

In numerous studies, Actos has been linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer, a find that prompted both France and Germany to suspend prescription of the popular drug. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned of this potentially life-threatening Actos side effect, but has not pulled the drug off the shelves.

The FDA is currently conducting its own investigation into the link between Actos and bladder cancer. Takeda has refused to recall Actos in the United States.

Hundreds of Actos lawsuits have been filed by users who say the drug caused them to develop bladder cancer. The cases have been consolidated into a mass tort called  In re: Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 02299, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

The Actos MDL is still accepting cases. Actos users who were diagnosed with bladder cancer, or their family members, can receive a free case evaluation to see if they have a legal claim now.

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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