Merck, Novo Nordisk Spared From 1,500 Suits Over Diabetes Drug Blamed for Cancer

(Bloomberg) -- Consumers suing Merck & Co., Novo Nordisk A/S and other makers of diabetes drugs allegedly linked to pancreatic cancer are dropping their complaints, according to an email seen by Bloomberg.

The decision, revealed in an email to clients from an attorney involved in the litigation, will spare the company from facing more than 1,500 lawsuits. It comes after a judge last year barred the plaintiffs’ experts from testifying about any cancer link, a ruling that was upheld on appeal late last month.

The committee of plaintiffs’ lawyers leading the cases over drugs such as Merck’s Januvia and Novo’s Victoza, concluded that “continued litigation in either federal court or state court will not be successful,” Alexandra Robertson, a Minnesota attorney for consumers of the drugs, said in the April 20 email reviewed by Bloomberg. 

“While this was not the result we were hoping for, we want to commend all the people who did their level best in the fight against Novo,” Robertson wrote to her colleagues in the legal battle.

Lawsuits Dismissed

More than 240 of the lawsuits already have been dismissed, according to federal court dockets.

In a response to Bloomberg News, Robertson said because the email “discusses confidential matters in the context of the litigation, it was not intended for public dissemination” and she wouldn’t provide further comment.

Hunter Shkolnik and Tor Hoerman, two of the lawyers leading the multi-district litigation, or MDL, didn’t reply to requests for comment. Novo said it doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation. A representative for Merck didn’t return an email and a call.

The decision likely marks the end of nine years of litigation over a class of drugs designed to help diabetics produce more insulin when their blood sugar levels rise. Merck generated $1.4 billion in sales last year from its Januvia and Janumet drugs, while Victoza reaped $2.2 billion for Novo.

“I have never before been in an MDL where the judge never let the plaintiffs get to first base in the case,” Mikal Watts, an attorney for 500 pancreatic cancer sufferers, said in an interview. He said there were about 1,000 additional lawsuits as part of the MDL.

The cases were filed after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2013 started scrutinizing the diabetes drugs for potential cancer links, following research that found they could play a role in pancreatic and kidney cancers. A year later, however, FDA officials said in a medical journal article that cancer concerns about the drugs were “inconsistent with the current data.” 

Crucial Rulings

U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia in San Diego, who is overseeing the consolidated cases, threw out claims the companies failed to properly warn consumers about the medicines’ potential cancer risks. He also ruled that plaintiffs’ expert witnesses, ready to testify that the products may cause cancer, couldn’t take the stand because they hadn’t used “good science” to formulate their opinions. 

Read More: Diabetes Drugmakers Get Pancreatic Cancer Lawsuits Thrown Out

After the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling on March 30, plaintiffs’ lawyers decided not to ask the Supreme Court to review its decision, according to Robertson’s email. 

Plaintiffs’ lawyers are asking Merck and Novo to forgo any effort to recover court costs such as deposition and filing fees, according to the email. 

“We anticipate that we will be successful in obtaining this outcome,” Robertson wrote. 

The case is In Re: Incretin Mimetics Products Liability Litigation, No. 13-md-2452, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California (San Diego).

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