Mealey's Drugs & Devices
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August 17, 2021
9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Amiodarone Lung Injury Case On Pleading Defects
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 23 affirmed dismissal of an amiodarone lung injury case, agreeing with a district court that the plaintiff failed to adequately plead his claims.
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August 17, 2021
Mass Tort Cases For Drugs, Medical Devices
New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.
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August 17, 2021
1st Davol Hernia Mesh MDL Bellwether Trial Under Way
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The first bellwether trial in the Davol hernia mesh multidistrict litigation got under way Aug. 2 in Ohio federal court.
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August 17, 2021
Injury Trustee For Opioid Maker Insys Still Waiting For Cash From 2 Insurers
WILMINGTON, Del. — The trustee for the Insys Victims Restitution Trust (VRT) on Aug. 11 told a Delaware federal bankruptcy court that the trust has been unable to reach out-of-court resolutions with two of three product liability insurers and has sued them in Delaware state court.
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August 17, 2021
Theranos CEO Can’t Argue Unusable Database Lets Her Suppress Criminal Evidence
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on Aug. 4 denied a motion by former Theranos Inc. CEO Elizabeth A. Holmes to suppress evidence of customer complaints, laboratory test results and a Medicare report in her upcoming criminal trial, saying it is not the United States’ fault that a database given to it by Theranos is unusable.
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August 17, 2021
Opioid MDL Judge Caps Contingency Fees At 15% In $26B Settlement Agreements
CLEVELAND — The Ohio federal judge overseeing the opioid multidistrict litigation on Aug. 6 capped all contingency fee agreements at 15% if counsel seeks to enforce a fee contract.
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August 17, 2021
OxyContin Maker Says More Than 95% Of Creditors Support Bankruptcy Reorganization
STAMFORD, Conn. — OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP on July 27 said preliminary voting results show “overwhelming support” of more than 95% for its bankruptcy reorganization plan.
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August 17, 2021
Pennsylvania Supreme Court To Rule On Device Design, Immunity Questions
PHILADELPHA — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Aug. 5 agreed to rule on questions of negligent design and strict liability involving a C.R. Bard Inc. inferior vena cava (IVC) filter lawsuit that was the subject of a defense summary judgment ruling at the trial court level.
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August 17, 2021
InterMune Sues Former CEO Scott Harkonen For Millions In Criminal Defense Costs
WILMINGTON, Del. — InterMune Inc. and Roche Holdings Inc. on Aug. 11 filed a preemptive declaratory action against former InterMune CEO W. Scott Harkonen, M.D., seeking a court order that the plaintiffs have no duty to defend Harkonen in his lengthy criminal fraud case and seeking to have him repay the plaintiffs more than $30 million for what his defense has already cost them.
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August 16, 2021
8th Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment Affecting 5,845 Bair Hugger MDL Cases
ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 16 reversed summary judgment for 5,845 cases in the Bair Hugger multidistrict litigation, finding that a district court judge erred in excluding the plaintiff’s general causation medical experts’ opinions.
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August 16, 2021
Judge: No Reasonable Jury Can Find Device Maker Made False Statements To FDA
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge on Aug. 12 granted summary judgment to heart device maker Boston Scientific Corp. (BSC) in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a doctor, finding that no reasonable jury could find that the defendant made false statements to the Food and Drug Administration that were material to the agency’s decision to grant premarket approval for two devices.
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August 13, 2021
Nurse, Drug Study Coordinator Sentenced For Faking Drug Research, Must Pay $2.13M
MIAMI — A Florida nurse practitioner and an employee of a contract research organization (CRO) were sentenced Aug. 11 to 46 and 30 months respectively in federal prison for falsifying patients and data for a clinical study of an investigational drug to treat inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS) with diarrhea and one to treat diabetic neuropathy.
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August 12, 2021
Shareholders Fail To Plead Loss Causation In Stock-Drop Suit Against Drug Maker
SAN FRANCISCO — In an Aug. 10 order, a federal judge in California ruled that although shareholders in a securities class action lawsuit against a drug maker and others stemming from the defendants’ alleged misrepresentation of sales expectations and usage of the company’s coagulant drug have sufficiently pleaded an actionable misstatement or omission and scienter, dismissal of their federal securities law claims is necessary because they have failed to properly plead loss causation.
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August 12, 2021
Tasigna MDL Created For 20 Cases, But JPMDL Says More Case Are Likely
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) on Aug. 10 centralized 20 federal lawsuits alleging that the chemotherapy drug Tasigna caused atherosclerotic injuries, citing the centralization of 186 cases in New Jersey state court and plaintiff counsel’s review of more than 200 potential new cases.
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August 11, 2021
Panel Denies Motion For Belviq Weight Loss Drug Cancer MDL, Citing Too Few Cases
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) on Aug. 10 denied centralization of 20 federal lawsuits alleging that the withdrawn weight loss drug Belviq caused cancer, saying there are too few cases and that informal coordination is an adequate remedy.
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August 06, 2021
8th Circuit Affirms Choice-Of-Law Dismissal Of Bair Hugger MDL Case
ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 5 said the court overseeing the Bair Hugger multidistrict litigation did not err in applying Ohio substantive law and finding that a plaintiff failed to plead actionable claims.
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August 03, 2021
Florida Federal Jury Returns Defense Verdict In C.R. Bard IVC Filter Trial
TAMPA — A Florida federal court jury on July 21 returned a defense verdict in favor of C.R. Bard Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc. (Bard) in a case in which a plaintiff alleged that Bard’s G2 X inferior vena cava (IVC) filter injured her.
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August 03, 2021
Jury Awards Plaintiff $386,250 In Bard IVC Trial In Texas Federal Court
DALLAS — A Texas federal court jury on July 21 awarded a woman $386,250 in compensatory damages after finding that a Recovery inferior vena cava (IVC) filter made by C.R. Bard Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc. (Bard) was negligently designed and that the device broke apart inside her body causing injuries.
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August 03, 2021
Endo Settles Tennessee ‘Drug Dealer’ Lawsuit For $35M, Both Sides Report
Opioid manufacturer Endo International PLC and plaintiffs counsel on July 22 and July 29 announced that Endo Health Solutions Inc. and Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (collectively, Endo) reached an agreement in principle to settle an opioid lawsuit by 28 Tennessee counties, cities and towns for $35 million.
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August 03, 2021
FDA: Post-Approval Trial Of Fast-Tracked Myeloma Drug Shows Increased Death Risk
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on July 28 told patients and health care professionals that post-approval clinical trial results show an increased risk of death associated with Pepaxto brand melphalan flufenamide, a drug approved in February under an accelerated approval process, to treat patients with multiple myeloma.