Xarelto Traditional Media Coverage

Traditional Media Coverage

1. Jury Hands J&J, Bayer Win In 3rd Xarelto Bellwether

   Aug 18, 2017 | Law360

   By Dave Simpson
   
   
   A Mississippi federal jury on Friday sided with Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a bellwether case brought by a woman claiming the blood thinner Xarelto caused gastrointestinal bleeding that required her hospitalization, according to the plaintiff’s and defendants’ representatives.
2. Makers of Xarelto Rack Up Third Defense Verdict in Third Trial

   Aug 18, 2017 | National Law Jounral

   By Amanda Bronstad
   
   
   For plaintiffs in Xarelto litigation, the third time was not the charm.
3. Bayer, J&J win third U.S. trial over Xarelto bleeding risk

   Aug 18, 2017 | Reuters

   By Tina Bellon
   
   
   A federal jury has cleared Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson of liability in the third case to go to trial out of thousands of lawsuits claiming the drugmakers' blood thinner Xarelto led to severe internal bleeding.
4. J&J, Bayer log third straight court win over Xarelto

   Aug 18, 2017 | Seeking Alpha

   By Jason Aycock
   
   
   A federal jury has cleared Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -0.3%) and Bayer (BAYRY+0.6%) of charges that they defectively designed a blood thinner, in results from a third trial over the drug.
5. J&J, Bayer Cleared of Responsibility in Third Xarelto Trial

   Aug 18, 2017 | Bloomberg

   By Jef Feeley
   
   
   Johnson & Johnson and Bayer AG didn’t defectively design Xarelto blood thinner, federal jury in Mississippi ruled Friday.

Traditional Media Coverage

1. Jury Hands J&J, Bayer Win In 3rd Xarelto Bellwether

   Aug 18, 2017 | Law360

   By Dave Simpson

   A Mississippi federal jury on Friday sided with Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a bellwether case brought by a woman claiming the blood thinner Xarelto caused gastrointestinal bleeding that required her hospitalization, according to the plaintiff’s and defendants’ representatives.

   The trial was the third win for Janssen and Bayer in a bellwether trial in Louisiana multidistrict litigation over claims they didn’t warn about the possibility of dangerous internal bleeding associated with the blood thinner. The trial was presided over by a Louisiana federal judge but took place in Jackson, Mississippi. A fourth bellwether trial is pending.
   
   “The defense verdicts in the first three trials affirm both the safety and efficacy of Xarelto, and that its FDA-approved label contains accurate, science-based information on the benefits and risks of this life-saving medicine,” a Bayer spokesperson said in a release. “Plaintiffs’ attorneys in these cases have presented multiple theories to juries regarding the alleged inadequacy of the Xarelto label, and all three juries have rejected their claims and found in favor of the companies.”
   
   Dora Mingo developed deep vein thrombosis after having her hip replaced in 2015, according to her complaint. She was given Xarelto to treat the thrombosis, but as she was taking it, she started having gastrointestinal bleeding, for which she had to be hospitalized, the complaint said. She argued that the drugmakers knew of the problem and failed to warn patients and doctors about it.
   
   At the trial, which kicked off on Aug. 7, Mingo testified that when Xarelto was introduced to the market, the companies knew or should have known about the danger of a patient taking the drug if a doctor doesn’t perform a standard laboratory test to evaluate his or her risk of bleeding on Xarelto.
   
   The companies’ argument that Mingo wouldn’t have taken the drug if she had read a medication guide was also flawed, she said.
   
   In the previous trial, widower Joseph Orr said that the companies failed to warn doctors of Xarelto's dangers, and therefore were responsible for the stroke that killed his wife Sharyn Orr in May 2015. A New Orleans federal jury last month found in favor of Janssen and Bayer.
   
   In Mingo’s case, Janssen and Bayer argued that they didn’t have the authority to change the drug’s label and that her state law claims were preempted by federal law.
   
   “The makers of Xarelto need to be candid about the risks posed by this blood thinner,” Mingo’s attorney, Andy Birchfield, said in a statement to Law360 following the verdict. “Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Healthcare engaged in aggressive direct-to-consumer, physician marketing and advertising campaigns, but gave little weight to the dangers of Xarelto because they were more focused on their business plan than patient safety. Health complications suffered by Ms. Mingo and thousands of others could have been avoided if physicians were told they could run a simple blood test to help identify patients at an increased risk of excessive bleeding.”
   
   The case was presided over by U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon.
   
   Mingo is represented by Andy Birchfield of Beasley Allen Law Firm.
   
   Janssen is represented by Susan M. Sharko, Rodney M. Hudson and Chanda A. Miller of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, and James B. Irwin and Kim E. Moore of Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore LLC. Bayer is represented by William Hoffman, Andrew K. Solow and Steven Glickstein of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, Lindsey C. Boney IV of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, and John F. Olinde of Chaffe McCall LLP.
   
   The case is Dora Mingo v. Janssen Research & Development LLC et al., case number 2:15-cv-03469, and the MDL is In re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, case number 2:14-md-02592, both in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
   

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2. Makers of Xarelto Rack Up Third Defense Verdict in Third Trial

   Aug 18, 2017 | National Law Jounral

   By Amanda Bronstad

   For plaintiffs in Xarelto litigation, the third time was not the charm.

   A jury in the third bellwether trial over the blood thinner Xarelto has sided with defendants Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bayer—again. The verdict, rendered on Friday, came about three hours after the jury began deliberating and despite the absence of star defense attorney Beth Wilkinson. The trial also was in Jackson, Mississippi, not New Orleans.

   Statements from both Bayer and Janssen noted that the verdict was the third defense win in the Xarelto litigation.

   "The jury's decision reflects the facts of this case and the appropriateness of Xarelto's (rivaroxaban) FDA-approved design and labeling," wrote Sarah Freeman, a spokeswoman for Janssen, which is part of Johnson & Johnson. "We will continue to defend against the allegations made in this litigation."

   Bayer spokeswoman Sasha Damouni Ellis added in an emailed statement, "Plaintiffs' attorneys in these cases have presented multiple theories to juries regarding the alleged inadequacy of the Xarelto label, and all three juries have rejected their claims and found in favor of the companies."

   One of the lead plaintiffs' attorneys, Andy Birchfield, a principal at Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles in Montgomery, Alabama, stood by the plaintiffs' claims — in particular, that the defendants should have instructed doctors to conduct a simple blood test that could assess a patient's risk of bleeding. He also showed no signs of backing down.

   "We will continue fighting for the thousands of innocent victims injured or killed by this drug," he wrote. "The makers of Xarelto need to be candid about the risks posed by this blood thinner. Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Healthcare engaged in aggressive direct-to-consumer, physician marketing and advertising campaigns, but gave little weight to the dangers of Xarelto because they were more focused on their business plan than patient safety."

   More than 18,000 cases allege that Xarelto, an anticoagulant used to treat blood clots, caused plaintiffs to suffer from uncontrollable internal bleeding.

   This month's case was brought by Dora Mingo, a resident of Summit, Mississippi, who was admitted to the hospital in 2015 for gastrointestinal bleeding less than a month after taking Xarelto to treat a blood clot in her leg following hip replacement surgery.

   Wilkinson, of Washington, D.C.'s Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, scored speedy defense verdicts on May 3 and June 12 in the first two Xarelto trials.

   This time, Janssen relied on Richard Sarver of Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, who was involved in the first Xarelto trial and is based in New Orleans. Bayer was represented by Lyn Pruitt of Mitchell Williams in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Walter T. Johnson at Watkins & Eager in Jackson, Mississippi.

   Aside from the verdict, another aspect of the third trial remained the same: All the juries have taken between two to three hours to make their decision.

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3. Bayer, J&J win third U.S. trial over Xarelto bleeding risk

   Aug 18, 2017 | Reuters

   By Tina Bellon

   A federal jury has cleared Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson of liability in the third case to go to trial out of thousands of lawsuits claiming the drugmakers' blood thinner Xarelto led to severe internal bleeding.

   The verdict in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Mississippi, is a blow to thousands of patients with similar allegations against the drugmaker. The jury returned the verdict after just four hours of deliberation.

   The companies also won the previous two trials on claims of risks from Xarelto.

   In the latest case, plaintiff Dora Mingo claimed she suffered acute gastrointestinal bleeding after she was treated with Xarelto for a month in 2015 to prevent blood clotting following an operation.

   She accused the drugmakers, who jointly developed the blood thinner, of having failed to warn about the bleeding risks and said her injuries could have been prevented had they provided adequate information.

   Mingo's case is among an estimated 18,600 lawsuits in federal and state courts related to Xarelto. The first three cases were chosen to be tried as so-called bellwethers to help both sides assess similar claims, define legal strategies, damages ranges and settlement options.

   Both Johnson & Johnson and Bayer said they would continue to defend against claims related to Xarelto.

   "We will continue to defend against the allegations made in this litigation," J&J's Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit said in a statement.

   Bayer in a statement, said, "Bayer stands behind the safety and efficacy of Xarelto and will continue to vigorously defend it."

   Andy Birchfield, one of Mingo's lawyers, in a statement said health complications suffered by thousands of patients could have been avoided if physicians were properly instructed about the risks.

   "We will continue fighting for the thousands of innocent victims injured or killed by this drug," Birchfield said.

   Xarelto is Bayer's best-selling drug and in 2016 contributed 2.9 billion euros ($3.41 billion) in revenues to the German group's pharmaceutical business.

   J&J in 2016 reported $2.2 billion in revenues from Xarelto.

   The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Xarelto in 2011. The drug is prescribed for people with a common heart rhythm disorder known as atrial fibrillation and to treat and reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms. ($1 = 0.8503 euros) (Reporting by Tina Bellon)
   

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4. J&J, Bayer log third straight court win over Xarelto

   Aug 18, 2017 | Seeking Alpha

   By Jason Aycock

   ·        A federal jury has cleared Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -0.3%) and Bayer (BAYRY+0.6%) of charges that they defectively designed a blood thinner, in results from a third trial over the drug.

   ·        This decision came down in Mississippi. The ruling is the third straight win for the companies in cases tied to Xarelto, made jointly by Bayer and J&J's Janssen unit.

   ·        More than 20,000 users of the drug have sued the companies over an issue tied to patients at a higher risk of uncontrolled bleeding when using Xarelto.

   ·        Source: Bloomberg

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5. J&J, Bayer Cleared of Responsibility in Third Xarelto Trial

   Aug 18, 2017 | Bloomberg

   By Jef Feeley

   Johnson & Johnson and Bayer AG didn’t defectively design Xarelto blood thinner, federal jury in Mississippi ruled Friday.

   * Mississippi grandmother, Dora Mingo, had accused the companies of misleading her doctors about the drug’s health risks

   * The verdict is the companies’ third-straight win in cases over Xarelto, which is developed jointly by J&J’s unit Janssen and Bayer

   * More than 20,000 Xarelto users have sued, alleging the companies didn’t properly instruct doctors to test patients at higher risk of uncontrolled bleeding while taking the drug, according to securities filings

   * CASES: are Mingo v. Janssen Research and Development LLC, 15-

   cv-3469 and In RE Xarelto Products Liability Litigation, 14- MD-2592, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans).

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