Böhringer to Settle More Pradaxa Cases
German privately owned drugmaker Böhringer Ingelheim has reached an agreement in principle to settle nearly 3,000 US lawsuits alleging that its Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) anticoagulant drug caused undisclosed bleeding risks. Most of the lawsuits have been filed in the judicial district of Hartford, Connecticut.
In a filing with the supreme court of Connecticut, the company said the proposed settlement, which it did not quantify, would resolve the lawsuits if the plaintiffs accept the settlement. The procedure could take six to nine months, it added.
Lawyers for Böhringer and the other parties to the settlement agreement have asked the court to put a freeze on pending appeals against earlier rulings as these might jeopardize the outcome.
In five US trials to date, mostly in Connecticut, plaintiffs have won two cases, Böhringer three, according to a Reuters tally. In the biggest win for a plaintiff, a jury awarded $542,466 to a New York man who alleged he suffered life-threatening bleeding after taking Pradaxa.
Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010, the blood thinner is part of a new class of drugs designed to replace decades-old warfarin in preventing strokes in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat.
Also approved for this indication are Bayer’s Xarelto, marketed by Johnson & Johnson in the US, and Eliquis, jointly marketed by Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb.
In 2014, Böhringer agreed to pay about $650 million to resolve some 4,000 Pradaxa product liability lawsuits, most of them said to be still pending in federal court.
Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist
