The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled all Zantac (ranitidine) antacid products from the market on April1, 2020, based on evidence that the products tested positive for unsafe levels of N-nitroso dimethylamine (NDMA), a cancer-causing substance. Since that time, many plaintiffs, who took the medication and were diagnosed with cancer, have filed against the makers of Zantac and...
Continue ReadingNovember 12, 2020 — U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody “trimmed” claims accusing Sanofi’s predecessor, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, of false advertising and giving kickbacks to physicians who promoted Taxotere. Claims stated that between 1996 and 2004, the drug manufacturer paid doctors to attend advisory boards focused on advertising Taxotere. The doctors then prescribed Taxotere or off-brand versions of Taxotere to...
Continue ReadingNovember 6, 2020 — “The Court amended certain pretrial deadlines for the third, fourth, and fifth bellwether trials.” Reference: “United States District Court.” MDL – 2740 Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation | Eastern District of Louisiana | United States District Court, 28 Dec. 2020, www.laed.uscourts.gov/case-information/mdl-mass-class-action/taxotere.
Continue ReadingOctober 5, 2020 — On October 5, 2020, Judge Rosenberg ordered a timeline for class action discovery in Pretrial Order #49. The timeline runs from October 23, 2020 to December 20, 2021, which is the deadline for fact discovery and class motions. Reference: “United States District Court.” 20-MD-2924-Rosenberg – In Re: Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation | Southern District...
Continue ReadingAugust 19, 2020 — “Per the parties’ agreement, the Court amended certain pretrial deadlines and trial dates.” Reference: “United States District Court.” MDL – 2740 Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation | Eastern District of Louisiana | United States District Court, 28 Dec. 2020, www.laed.uscourts.gov/case-information/mdl-mass-class-action/taxotere
Continue ReadingAugust 1, 2020 – The Department of Justice (DOJ) investigated Sanofi-Aventis US LLC and GlaxoSmithKline LLC regarding the allegations that the heartburn drug, Zantac, caused cancer. The DOJ and U.S. Attorney’s Office were specifically interested in whether these companies violated the False Claims Act by failing to reveal their knowledge about the presence of NDMA in their product. The probes...
Continue ReadingJuly 5, 2020 – Two more Zantac cancer lawsuits were consolidated into the U.S. District Court of Florida, where the Zantac litigation is pending. The two plaintiffs, one from Pennsylvania and the other from Florida, were both women who claimed that regular use of Zantac lead them (or their decedent) to develop cancer. The Pennsylvania-based plaintiff filed a claim on...
Continue ReadingJune 15, 2020 — There are 986 cases pending as of June 15, 2020. Reference: “Pending MDL Dockets by District.” Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, www.jpml.uscourts.gov/sites/jpml/files/Pending_MDL_Dockets_By_District-June-15-2020.pdf.
Continue ReadingJune 18, 2020 — On June 18, 2020, Judge Rosenberg ordered a schedule for discovery and case management in Pretrial Order #30. The schedule runs from June 15, 2020, which was the beginning of fact discovery, to August 3, 2022. Reference: “United States District Court.” 20-MD-2924-Rosenberg – In Re: Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation | Southern District of Florida...
Continue ReadingJune 9, 2020 – Forty previous Zantac users with cancer asked a court to consolidate their cases in California. The plaintiffs were alleging that Sanofi-Aventis US LLC, Pfizer Inc., and other pharmaceutical companies hid the risks of heartburn drug Zantac. Linking their cases in a coordinated proceeding to consolidate pretrial and trial phases of the cases would align all of...
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