Paul Pennock, Co-Lead Counsel in $9 Billion Actos Bladder Cancer Verdict Against Takeda and Eli Lilly

Actos (pioglitazone) entered the U.S. market in 1999 as a type-2 diabetes medication and quickly became one of Takeda Pharmaceuticals' best-selling drugs, generating roughly $4.5 billion in annual revenue at its peak. Studies published during the drug's commercial life found that patients who took pioglitazone for more than a year faced a significantly elevated risk of bladder cancer, and regulators in France and Germany eventually suspended its use. The FDA permitted continued U.S. sales but required updated black-box warnings.

Terrence Allen, a former hardware-store manager from Attica, New York, began taking Actos in 2006. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2011, after more than four years on the drug. He sued Takeda and its marketing partner Eli Lilly, alleging that both companies had known about the cancer link years before adequate warnings reached patients or their doctors. Allen's case was one of thousands consolidated in the multidistrict litigation In re Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2299, pending before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty in the Western District of Louisiana.

Paul J. Pennock of Weitz and Luxenberg was court-appointed as co-lead plaintiffs counsel in MDL 2299, alongside Richard J. Arsenault of Neblett, Beard and Arsenault. Allen v. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. (No. 6:12-cv-00064) was selected as the first federal bellwether trial, meaning its outcome would inform settlement talks for thousands of remaining claimants. Before trial, Judge Doherty found that Takeda had breached its duty to preserve relevant documents, informing the jury of this spoliation finding.

The jury returned its verdict on April 7, 2014, apportioning 75 percent liability to Takeda and 25 percent to Eli Lilly. It awarded $1.475 million in compensatory damages and $9 billion in punitive damages: $6 billion against Takeda and $3 billion against Lilly. At the time, Bloomberg reported the award was among the largest punitive verdicts in U.S. history for a personal injury case.

Judge Doherty denied the defendants' post-trial motions to throw out the verdict, finding that jurors had properly considered evidence showing both companies knew of the bladder cancer risk and failed to warn patients and physicians adequately. She then granted a remittitur motion in October 2014, reducing the punitive damages to $36.8 million total ($27.6 million from Takeda, $9.2 million from Eli Lilly) and compensatory damages to $1.27 million, on the grounds that the original punitive award was excessive and violated constitutional due-process limits. She described the reduced amount as 'large enough to accomplish the jury's clear aim.'

The MDL litigation continued. In April 2015, Takeda agreed to pay $2.4 billion to resolve approximately 9,000 remaining bladder cancer claims through a points-matrix program accounting for injury severity, age, duration of Actos use, and other risk factors. MDL 2299 formally closed in April 2018 after the bulk of cases reached resolution.