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Bayer and J&J Win Third Xarelto Case

22.08.2017 -

Germany’s Bayer and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) of the US have won the third of three lawsuits involving bleeding risks of the blockbuster blood thinner Xarelto, which was developed and produced by Bayer and is sold in the US by J&J.

In the latest case, a jury in the US District Court in Jackson, Mississippi, ruled in favor of the drugmakers against a woman who claimed she developed acute gastrointestinal bleeding after she took Xarelto following an operation in 2015.

First approved by the FDA in 2011, Xarelto was Bayer’s top-selling drug in 2016, bringing in $3.24 billion. It was J&J’s third top-seller last year, at $2.5 billion. The two companies still face more than 18,600 lawsuits in US state and federal courts and have pledged to keep defending the product against claims they failed to adequately warn of the risks.

The medication leads the market for next-generation anticoagulants, according to the news agency Reuters; however, it does not have a bleeding antidote. This market is dominated by Boehringer Ingelheim’s Pradaxa. Bayer and J&J had expected to have an antidote for sale last year but its launch was delayed when the drug’s developer received a “complete response letter” from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

 J&J loses another talc lawsuit

Separately, Johnson & Johnson received yet another setback this week in the latest round of litigation related to its talc-based baby powder. A jury in the US state of California ordered the drugmaker to pay $417 million to a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using its talc-based products for feminine hygiene.

In ruling for the plaintiff, The Los Angeles Superior Court said J&J failed to adequately warn consumers about the cancer risks of talc-based products. The judgment, which includes $70 million in compensatory damages and $347 million in punitive damages is reportedly the most expensive to date for the company.

Litigation in Missouri state courts has already resulted in more than $300 million in verdicts against the US healthcare group. J&J is appealing all the prior cases and has said it also will appeal the latest, “guided by the science, which supports the safety” of its talc product.