A jury in Philadelphia found defendant, Takeda, liable for over $2 million for failing to warn that its drug, Actos, can cause bladder cancer, and for causing a 79-year-old woman's bladder cancer. During the three-week-plus trial, Takeda had argued that smoking or other causes were to blame. There have now been seven (7) trials involving claims that Actos caused bladder cancer. The largest verdict, $9 billion earlier this year, is being appealed by Takeda. Two verdicts in favor of plaintiffs (California and Maryland) which combined totalled $8.2 million, were overturned by the trial judge. Three verdicts (two in Las Vegas and one in Illinois) were defense verdicts in favor of Takeda. Evidence shows that Takeda officials destroyed documents about Actos. Actos is a Type-2 diabetes drug which has generated over $16 billion in sales since it was released in 1999. The peak in sales was in the year ending March 2011, at $4.5 billion. Actos accounted for over 25% of Takeda's profits. There are over 3,500 lawsuits consolidated before Judge Rebecca Doherty in federal court in Louisiana. There are another 4,500 cases in state courts in Illinois, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and California.
