A federal judge ruled last week that an Actos class action lawsuit filed in multidistrict litigation (MDL) will remain a single case, separate from the over 3,500 personal injury lawsuits accusing Takeda Pharmaceuticals of concealing the significant risk of getting bladder cancer from Actos side effects.

On Sept. 16, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty issued an order stating that the Actos class action lawsuit, filed by the Painters & Allied Trades District Council 82 Health Care Fund and four individuals, will be assigned the same case number as the Actos MDL (11-md-2299). She further ordered that the time frame for Class certification under Local Rule 23.1 (B) is waived until further order of the Court.

The Actos class action lawsuit is seeking to represent numerous proposed Classes that include consumers and entities in the United States who purchased or paid costs for Actos since 1999, when the drug was approved. It accuses Takeda of withholding information and making deliberately misleading statements about the risk of Actos bladder cancer in order to reap billions of dollars in profits from Actos prescription  sales.

Earlier this year, a federal jury awarded a $9 billion Actos lawsuit settlement to a man who developed bladder cancer while using the type-2 diabetes medication. The record punitive damages award was designed to punish Takeda for withholding information about the risk of getting cancer from Actos. This was the first trial in the Actos MDL, and set the precedent for how juries across the country may respond to certain evidence and testimony in future trials.

Overview of Actos Bladder Cancer Complications

Actos was first approved by the FDA to sell in in July 1999, as a type-2 diabetes treatment drug.  This drug is a member of an insulin-sensitizing diabetes agent drug family, called thiazolidinediones (TZDs), which are specifically engineered for the sole purpose of treating symptoms of type-2 diabetes.

Actos is manufactured by the Japanese drug conglomerate, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and its American partner Eli Lilly & Co. Actos soon became successful after its release due to its fast-acting and aggressive biological mechanism, but was recommended as an alternative medication because of this.

In 2010, the concern regarding the potential link between Actos and bladder cancer emerged. During the discovery process and investigation phase of the Actos MDL, it was discovered that Takeda Pharmaceuticals had tested Actos on lab mice and had found that tumors formed on their bladders.

The FDA later released a public warning about the Actos cancer risk on June 15, 2011. The announcement stated that patients who had taken Actos had a 40% increased risk of developing bladder cancer if they used the drug for a year or more.

The Actos Class Action Lawsuit was originally filed as Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82 Health Care Fund, et al., v. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Limited, et al., Case No. 14-cv-02359, U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana.

It joins the Actos MDL In Re: Actos Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 11-md-2299, U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana.