Dec. 8, 2016 – San Diego, CA — Federal lawsuits involving Johnson & Johnson’s type 2 diabetes drug Invokana will be consolidated before a judge in New Jersey, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruled yesterday.
Nearly 100 lawsuits are pending in federal courts against the conglomerate and its Janssen Pharmaceuticals division, alleging two of the companies’ popular diabetes drugs caused a number of injuries, including kidney damage and a condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuits claim J&J and Janssen failed to adequately test Invokana and its sister drug Invokamet and warn of their risks. Both drugs belong to a new class called Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and are used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes.
The manufacturers of two other SGLT2 inhibitors are also facing a small number of lawsuits with similar claims: AstraZeneca and its diabetes drug Farxiga, and Boehringer Ingelheim and its diabetes drug Jardiance.
Some plaintiffs in pending Invokana lawsuits have called for “class-wide” centralization, which would bring Farxiga and Jardiance lawsuits into the multidistrict litigation. At least one of the cases in the litigation is a so-called “combination case,” in which the plaintiff took either Invokana or Invokamet along with another SGLT2 inhibitor.
While members of the Panel on Multidistrict Litigation agreed consolidation of Invokana suits was appropriate, they decided cases involving other SGLT2 inhibitors were not appropriate to consolidate in this MDL. The Panel also ruled against including claims against other SGLT2 inhibitors in “combination cases.”
In its Dec. 7 transfer order, the Panel wrote:
“Centralization will eliminate duplicative discovery, prevent inconsistent pretrial rulings … and conserve the resources of the parties, their counsel, and the judiciary. … [W]e are not convinced that the MDL should include claims involving Farxiga, Jardiance, or any other SLGT2 inhibitor, including any such claims in ‘combination cases.’”
The lawsuits will be consolidated before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in New Jersey, where Janssen is headquartered.
Judge Martinotti has never presided over an MDL before, but he currently presides over more than three dozen of the lawsuits already filed in the New Jersey federal court.
“We are confident that he will steer this litigation on a prudent course,” the Panel wrote of the district judge.
The Panel’s order came roughly one week after it held its December 2016 Hearing Session in Charlotte, N.C., where it heard arguments for and against consolidation in a handful of other cases, including Atrium Medical’s C-Qur Hernia Mesh.
Patients involved in C-Qur Hernia Mesh Lawsuits allege suffering injuries such as mesh erosion, adhesion and the need for additional surgeries. The Panel has not yet ruled on whether to centralize these mesh lawsuits.
Invokana & Invokamet Lawsuits
Hood National Law Group is now accepting cases involving patients who took Invokana or Invokamet and developed diabetic ketoacidosis, kidney failure, and other injuries. If you were harmed by either of these medications, call us today at 1-800-214-1010 for a free case evaluation or use the form on the right-hand side of your screen.
