August 18, 2015 — Bloomberg reports that Takeda Pharmaceutical’s $2.37 billion proposed settlement with thousands of people injured by Actos did not attract enough claimants by a deadline on August 12.
Only about 75% of eligible claimants signed up for the settlement, but Takeda needed 95% to fund the deal. The deadline has been extended to September 11, but doubts remain about whether the settlement will survive, according to The Japan Times.
Takeda offered settlements of nearly $300,000 per case, not including attorneys’ fees and reduced payments for risk-factors like age, smoking history, and toxin exposure. Takeda continues to deny that Actos causes bladder cancer.
The company is hoping to settle nearly 10,000 lawsuits. About 3,500 of those cases are centralized in Louisiana federal court under U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty. Another 4,500 cases are consolidated in California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, West Virginia, and other states.
It is possible that some plaintiffs believe they could get more money by presenting their case to a judge and jury. Most cases that have gone to trial have ended in multi-million dollar losses for Takeda.
Five juries have ruled against Takeda since 2013, including one in Louisiana that awarded a record-setting $9 billion to a man who blamed Actos for his cancer. The award was reduced to $37 million. Earlier this year, a jury in Philadelphia ordered Takeda to pay $2.3 million to a man who was diagnosed with bladder cancer after taking Actos for three years.
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