Settlement Reached for 20,000 Avandia Lawsuits
Date Published: Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to resolve more than 20,000 cases alleging Avandia causes heart attacks. The consensus, reached in court-ordered mediation, included a case that was set for trial in state court in Los Angeles.
The settlements are part of Glaxo’s efforts to resolve legal issues stretching back more than a decade. Executives announced in November that the drugmaker will pay $3 billion to settle U.S. criminal and civil probes into whether Glaxo illegally marketed Avandia and other medications.
The company already has agreed to pay at least $700 million to settle more than 15,000 patients’ claims that Avandia caused heart attacks and strokes, people familiar with the accords said last year.
More than 2,500 Avandia cases are consolidated before U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe in Philadelphia, who appointed a mediator in a bid to resolve the remaining claims over the drug. Other cases are pending in state courts around the U.S, according to Bloomberg.
Rufe set a 75-day deadline to resolve 85 percent of the remaining cases through the mediation program. At present time, it is unclear whether enough cases have been settled to meet the deadline. If not enough cases have reached settlement to satisfy the judge’s requirements, Rufe has said she will begin scheduling cases for trial. Currently, no Avandia cases have been considered by a jury.
A GSK spokesperson said the settlements of Avandia patients’ suits are covered by existing provisions and that the payments will be made through existing cash resources.
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
Settlement Reached for 20,000 Avandia Lawsuits
Date Published: Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to resolve more than 20,000 cases alleging Avandia causes heart attacks. The consensus, reached in court-ordered mediation, included a case that was set for trial in state court in Los Angeles.
The settlements are part of Glaxo’s efforts to resolve legal issues stretching back more than a decade. Executives announced in November that the drugmaker will pay $3 billion to settle U.S. criminal and civil probes into whether Glaxo illegally marketed Avandia and other medications.
The company already has agreed to pay at least $700 million to settle more than 15,000 patients’ claims that Avandia caused heart attacks and strokes, people familiar with the accords said last year.
More than 2,500 Avandia cases are consolidated before U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe in Philadelphia, who appointed a mediator in a bid to resolve the remaining claims over the drug. Other cases are pending in state courts around the U.S, according to Bloomberg.
Rufe set a 75-day deadline to resolve 85 percent of the remaining cases through the mediation program. At present time, it is unclear whether enough cases have been settled to meet the deadline. If not enough cases have reached settlement to satisfy the judge’s requirements, Rufe has said she will begin scheduling cases for trial. Currently, no Avandia cases have been considered by a jury.
A GSK spokesperson said the settlements of Avandia patients’ suits are covered by existing provisions and that the payments will be made through existing cash resources.
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