Actos Lawsuits: When $2.37 Billion Isn’t Enough

New Orleans, LATo the general public, $2.37 billion might seem like the sort of money one would jump at the opportunity to have, but for those people who filed an Actos lawsuit against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, it just might not be enough. The deadline to sign up to be part of an Actos side effects settlement has passed, but because not enough people have joined in, that deadline has reportedly been extended. Meanwhile, more Actos lawsuits have made their way to court, with plaintiffs alleging they were not adequately warned about the link between Actos and bladder cancer.

According to Bloomberg (8/13/15), the original deadline to sign up for the $2.37 billion settlement was August 12, but by that date only 75 percent of people with claims against Takeda Pharmaceuticals had signed up for the settlement. Takeda must fund the settlement after 95 percent of people who filed lawsuits opt in. The deadline has been moved back to September 11.

Approximately 8,000 lawsuits are eligible to take part in the settlement, which would see plaintiffs receive an average of around $250,000. But because some plaintiffs have received tens of millions of dollars, patients might not be as eager to sign up for $250,000. Under the terms of the settlement, payments would be reduced based on the patient’s age, history of smoking or exposure to other toxins.

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Two such plaintiffs had their lawsuit make its way to court. George Decou and the family of Maurice Iorio - who died in 2013 - allege they developed bladder cancer after taking Takeda’s diabetes medication. The lawsuit seeks $2 billion dollars on behalf of the plaintiffs, alleging Takeda concealed information that its drug was dangerous and destroyed evidence linking Actos to bladder cancer.

In 2014, a jury awarded an Actos plaintiff $9 billion. Although a judge reduced that amount to $36.8 million, that’s still well above the average payment covered by the settlement.

Actos is a diabetes medication made by Takeda Pharmaceuticals. In June 2011, the FDA warned that use of Actos for a year or more could be linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer. At the time, the FDA noted that an interim analysis of an ongoing study suggested patients with the longest exposure and highest cumulative doses of pioglitazone showed an increased risk of bladder cancer.

Some Actos lawsuits have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings in In Re Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation, 11-md-02299, in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Louisiana (Lafayette).

Actos is not the only diabetes medication in the news recently. In May 2015, the US FDA warned that Invokana was linked to ketoacidosis, a potentially serious condition that could require emergency care.