Mealey's Drugs & Devices
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August 14, 2019
Teva Records $646M Expense For Legal Settlements, Including Opioid Litigation
PETACH TIKVA, Israel — Drug manufacturer Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. on Aug. 7 told stockholders that in the second quarter, it recorded an expense of $646 million in legal settlements and loss contingencies, up from $20 million for the comparable period last year.
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August 14, 2019
Pennsylvania High Court Won’t Hear Appeal Of $2.5M Risperdal Gynecomastia Verdict
PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Aug. 2 denied a petition for allowance of appeal by Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. of a $2.5 million Risperdal gynecomastia verdict (Phillip Pledger, et al. v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al., No. 31 EAL 2019, Pa. Sup.).
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August 14, 2019
2 C-Qur Mesh MDL Bellwether Cases Mostly Survive Time-Bar Challenges
CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire federal judge presiding over the C-Qur mesh multidistrict litigation on Aug. 12 denied defense motions to dismiss all of two bellwether cases on the statute of limitations (In Re: Atrium Medical Corp. C-Qur Mesh Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2753 [Felicia Blackwood v. Atrium Medical Corporation, et al., No. 16-379, Joseph Shumaker v. Atrium Medical Corporation, et al., No. 17-741, D. N.H.).
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August 13, 2019
New York Cancer Doctor Pleads Guilty To Taking $199,400 From Opioid Maker
NEW YORK — A cancer doctor pleaded guilty on Aug. 2 for taking about $119,400 in kickbacks from opioid maker Insys Therapeutics Inc. for sham speaking engagements promoting the opioid Subsys, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (United States v. Freedman, No. 18-cr-217, S.D. N.Y.).
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August 13, 2019
Oklahoma Opioid Verdict Due Week Of Aug. 26, Special Master Says
NORMAN, Okla. — An Oklahoma state court special master on Aug. 12 said a judge who tried the state’s public nuisance opioid lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. will issue the verdict the week of Aug. 26 (State of Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al., No. CJ-2017-816, Okla. Dist., Cleveland Co.).
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August 12, 2019
Partial Dismissal Of Claims In THA Track Granted In BHR Hip MDL
BALTIMORE — A U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland judge on Aug. 5 partially granted a motion to dismiss claims in the total hip arthroplasties (THA) track of the Smith & Nephew’s Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) multidistrict litigation, finding that “a tripartite approach” is necessary for hybrid systems, resulting in some of the claims being preempted by federal law while others survive (In re Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing [BHR] Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2775, No. 17-md-2775, D. Md., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131067).
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August 12, 2019
Woman’s Attempt To Amend Discovery Rule Argument Futile, Judge Says
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Aug. 9 denied a woman’s request to amend her pelvic mesh product liability suit after finding that her attempt to amend her allegations that her inability to discover that her injury was caused by the mesh caused her to file suit after the expiration of het three-year statute of limitations was futile (Kim Johnston v. Covidien LP, et al., No. C 19-01419, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134771).
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August 11, 2019
Women’s Claims Over Leaking Breast Implants Preempted, Judge Rules
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California on Aug. 1 dismissed with prejudice claims brought by five women who allegedly sustained injuries when MemoryGel breast implants made by Mentor Worldwide LLC leaked gel, ruling that their allegations were preempted by the Medical Device Amendments (MDA) to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) (Tammi Jacob, et al. v. Mentor Worldwide LLC, et al., No. 19-cv-01484-AB, C.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128989).
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August 8, 2019
Mylan To Pay SEC $30M For Misclassifying EpiPen
HERTFORDSHIRE, England — Mylan N.V. on July 29 said it has reached a $30 million agreement-in-principle to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the misclassification of the EpiPen epinephrine autoinjector as a generic product to avoid paying rebates to the Medicaid program.
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August 1, 2019
Arizona Sues OxyContin Maker, Sackler Family In High Court To Stop Asset Transfers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The State of Arizona on July 31 asked the U.S. Supreme Court for leave to file a case of original jurisdiction against opioid maker Purdue Pharma Inc. and members of the controlling Sackler family for illegally transferring assets to avoid expected liability from opioid crisis litigation (State of Arizona v. Richard Sackler, et al., No. n/a, U.S. Sup.).
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August 1, 2019
Bair Hugger MDL Closed After Judge Excludes Experts, Grants Summary Judgment
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota federal judge presiding over the Bair Hugger multidistrict litigation on July 31 closed all 5,145 cases after excluding four plaintiff experts and granting summary judgment for defendants 3M Co. and Arizant Healthcare Inc. (In Re: Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Devices Product Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2666, No. 15-md-2666, D. Minn.).
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July 31, 2019
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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July 31, 2019
Spine Device Maker Paid Surgeons Kickbacks To Use Products, Government Alleges
NEW YORK — The United States on July 22 intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that an orthopedic device manufacturer used various forms of kickbacks to get surgeons to commit to using its products (United States, et al., ex rel. BNHT LLC v. Life Spine Inc., et al., No. 18-1131, S.D. N.Y.).
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July 31, 2019
Plaintiffs’ Firm Wants Pelvic Mesh MDL Judge To Allow Fee Appeals
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Five days after the pelvic mesh multidistrict litigation judge finalized a common benefit fee and costs order, a plaintiff law firm on July 30 filed a motion to alter, amend or reconsider the underlying enabling order, arguing that the plaintiffs’ Fee and Cost Committee (FCC) unilaterally switched the method for reimbursement from lodestar to percentage, leaving firms without an avenue to appeal (In Re: Neomedic Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2511, No. 14-md-2511, S.D. W.Va., Charleston Div.).
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July 31, 2019
Novartis Negotiates Settlement Of Drug Qui Tam Claims, Takes $700M Charge
BASEL, Switzerland — Swiss drug maker Novartis International AG on July 18 said it is in settlement discussions to resolve false claims allegations with regard to three heart drugs and has recorded a provision of $700 million.
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July 31, 2019
Michael Avenatti Out As Class Counsel In Surgical Gown Case
LOS ANGELES — Celebrity plaintiff attorney Michael J. Avenatti on July 15 was officially removed as class counsel in a California statewide surgical gown class action, and his replacements were ordered by a federal judge not to allow Avenatti to “control the strategy of the litigation” (Bahamas Surgery Center, LLC v. Kimberly-Clark Corporation, et al., No. CV 14-8390-DMG, C.D. Calif.).
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July 30, 2019
United States Opposes Acquittal, New Trial For 5 Insys Executives
BOSTON — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts on July 26 told a district court that it should deny a renewed motion for acquittal or a new trial by five high-ranking Insys Therapeutics Inc. employees who were found guilty of racketeering (United States v. Michael J. Gurry, et al., No. 16-cr-10343, D. Mass.).
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July 30, 2019
Zofran Birth Defect MDL Judge: Plaintiff Consultant Is Subject To Discovery
BOSTON — The Massachusetts federal judge overseeing the Zofran birth defect multidistrict litigation on July 25 ordered plaintiffs’ counsel and a plaintiffs’ epidemiologist to produce to defendant GlaxoSmithKline LLC (GSK) documents the researcher used in writing a medical journal article on which the plaintiffs rely for causation and to disclose her communications and financial arrangements with plaintiffs’ counsel (In Re: Zofran [Ondansetron] Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2657, No. 15-md-2657, D. Mass., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123913).
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July 30, 2019
Pelvic Mesh MDL Judge Gives Final Approval To $366M Common Benefit Award
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia federal judge overseeing seven pelvic mesh multidistrict litigation dockets on July 25 finalized an order approving $366 million in common benefit fees and expenses for 94 plaintiff law firms (In Re: Coloplast Corp. Pelvic Support Systems Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2387, No. 12-md-2387, S.D. W.Va.).
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July 30, 2019
Teva Pays California $69M To Settle Probe That It Paid To Delay Generic Competitors
SAN FRANCISCO — The California Attorney General’s Office on July 29 announced that drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. will pay $69 million to settle allegations that it entered into pay-to-delay agreements to keep competing generic versions of the sleep drug Provigil off the market and to maintain a monopoly.