Personal Injury Law

During July 13-14, 2010 FDA Advisory Committee Meeting, Glaxo Settles Most Of The 13,000 Avandia Court Cases

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

Bloomberg reporters Jef Feeley and Trista Kelley broke the news of a large (in terms of the number of claims, at least) Avandia settlement while most of the media's attention was on the July 13-14, 2010 FDA Advisory Committee meeting about whether Avandia should remain on the market in the U.S. or be recalled.

From this July 13, 2010 Bloomberg article, "Glaxo Said to Pay $460 Million to Settle Avandia Damage Suits", we get these facts and first impressions about this big Avandia settlement:

GlaxoSmithKline Plc agreed to pay about $460 million to resolve a majority of lawsuits alleging the company?s Avandia diabetes drug can cause heart attacks and strokes, people familiar with the accords said.

Glaxo, the U.K.?s biggest drugmaker, agreed to settle about 10,000 suits for an average of at least $46,000 apiece, the people said. The company had been facing more than 13,000 suits alleging Glaxo hid the drug?s heart-attack risk, according to a UBS AG analyst. The settlements come as Glaxo is set to face its first Avandia trial in federal court in Philadelphia in October.

?This is exceptionally good news given the market has discounted $6 billion in liability,? for Avandia litigation, Gbola Amusa, an analyst at UBS in London, said in an interview. ?We had outlined an absolute worst-case scenario where $500,000 per case would have to be paid.?....

The [FDA Advisory Committee] panel could recommend Glaxo pull Avandia from the market. A withdrawal of Avandia ?might prompt a limited number of additional suits but liability should be limited,? Amusa said.

The FDA review was a factor in the decision by Glaxo officials to start negotiating with lawyers for former Avandia users, the people familiar with the settlements said.

Previously, back in mid-May 2010, these same two Bloomberg reporters let us know about the first round of Avandia settlements, involving about 700 Avandia lawsuits, in this article, "Glaxo Said to Pay About $60 Million in First Avandia Heart-Risk Settlement".

I presume that Bloomberg reporters Jef Feeley and Trista Kelley will be following the remaining 3,000 Avandia lawsuits and be among the first to report on the outcome for those cases.

______________________________________________________________________________

DrugInjuryLaw.com: Legal Information And News About Prescription Drug Side Effects