ADVERTISEMENT

Endo, Glaxo to Settle Suits Over Testosterone Drug

Endo, Glaxo to Settle Suits Over Testosterone-Replacement Drugs

(Bloomberg) -- Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline LLC agreed to settle lawsuits accusing the drugmakers of hiding the health risks of a testosterone-boosting drug marketed to middle-aged men, according to court filings.

The terms of the tentative deal weren’t disclosed Friday, but the accord would resolve more than 1,300 suits filed by men who blame a drug manufactured by Endo and co-promoted by GSK for causing potentially fatal blood clots. The settlement doesn’t cover cases targeting AbbVie Inc., one of the largest makers of testosterone-replacement medicines.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago, overseeing more than 6,000 testosterone cases consolidated for pre-trial information exchanges and test trials, is putting on hold all litigation against Endo, its Auxilium unit and London-based GSK while the final details of the settlement are worked out. That means an April 6 trial against Endo and Auxilium over its Testim gel is off the court’s schedule, the court filings show.

“The parties are negotiating the terms of a potential settlement, subject to certain contingencies and conditions, Heather Zoumas Lubeski, a spokeswoman for Endo and Auxilium, said Friday in an emailed statement. “The settlement will not involve any admission of wrongdoing or liability.’’

Global Settlements

Makers of testosterone boosters recently have been pushing for global settlements to wipe out all claims that their products caused blood clots that led to men’s heart attacks and strokes. The suits also contend the companies violated federal law through their overly aggressive marketing tactics.

In January, lawyers for Eli Lilly & Co. told a judge they’d agreed to resolve the more than 400 testosterone cases filed against the Indianapolis-based drugmaker. Kennelly also agreed to stay litigation while the Lilly settlement is finalized. No terms have been announced.

Glaxo’s agreement to help market Testim for more than a year got it named as a defendant in the testosterone suits, Frances DeFranco, a GSK spokeswoman, said Monday in an email.

Kelley Murphy, a Lilly spokeswoman, didn’t respond Friday to a request for comment on the settlements.

The consolidated case is In Re AndroGel Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2545, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).

To contact the reporters on this story: Jef Feeley in Wilmington, Delaware at jfeeley@bloomberg.net, Janan Hanna in Chicago at jhanna31@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Blumberg, Elizabeth Wollman

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.