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Xarelto Russel Verdict Report 4-27-18
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BREAKING: Bayer, J&J Beat Claims In Latest Philly Xarelto Trial
Apr 27, 2018 | Law360
By Matt Fair
A Philadelphia jury on Friday cleared a pair of Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson units of claims that the companies failed to properly warn a New Jersey man’s doctors about the risks of internal bleeding associated with the anticoagulant medication Xarelto. -
Philadelphia Jury Hands Defense Win in Trial Over Xarelto
Apr 27, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer
By Max Mitchell
A Philadelphia jury has handed up a defense verdict in favor of Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, finding that the label on the blood thinner Xarelto adequately warned patients about the danger of severe bleeds.
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BREAKING: Bayer, J&J Beat Claims In Latest Philly Xarelto Trial
Apr 27, 2018 | Law360
By Matt Fair
A Philadelphia jury on Friday cleared a pair of Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson units of claims that the companies failed to properly warn a New Jersey man’s doctors about the risks of internal bleeding associated with the anticoagulant medication Xarelto.
Jurors rejected claims that warnings labels for the Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. drug left out key information about the increased risk the drug posed when combined with antiplatelet medications.
The case centered on claims from New Jersey resident Daniel Russell, who suffered a massive gastrointestinal bleed after using Xarelto for just a week after undergoing emergency treatment for both a blocked coronary artery, for which he received a stent, and an irregular heartbeat.
According to court records, Russell was prescribed a mix of Plavix and aspirin to prevent clotting in the area of the stent, and Xarelto in order to prevent the kinds of potentially stroke-inducing blood clots that develop in individuals with irregular heartbeats.
The verdict marks the second time that Bayer and Janssen have managed to dodge Xarelto-related claims in Philadelphia County, and builds on three victories the companies had already notched in Xarelto-related trials as part of a federal multidistrict litigation program in Louisiana.
While jurors in an initial Xarelto case in Philadelphia returned a $28.5 million award on a similar negligence claim in December, a judge threw out the verdict on post-trial motions a month later based on testimony that an additional warning would not have changed a prescribing doctor’s decision to use the drug.
Bayer praised Friday's verdict in statement and said it underscored the safety and efficacy of the drug.
“Bayer and Janssen have had successful outcomes for all five cases that have gone to trial, and the defense verdict in this trial underscores again the safety and efficacy of this life-saving medicine, and the accuracy of Xarelto’s science-based, FDA-approved label," Bayer said. "Plaintiffs’ attorneys in these cases have presented multiple theories regarding the alleged inadequacy of the Xarelto label, and all of their claims ultimately have been rejected under applicable laws."
Janssen released a similar statement.
"At Janssen, nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of the patients who use our medicines," the J&J unit said. "We stand behind the safety and efficacy of Xarelto and will continue to defend against the allegations made in this litigation."
In defending their drug against Russell's claims, the companies pressed similar arguments to those made in the initial trial in Philadelphia: that the patient's prescribing physicians would not have made a different decision if provided with a more robust warning.
The companies pointed to medical records in which one of the two doctors who prescribed Xarelto to Russell during his hospitalization said that he had done so after “extensive discussion” with Russell and his understanding that the drug posed a higher risk of bleeding when compared to other possible anticoagulants.
The defense argued that neither of the physicians had testified that additional warnings about the risk of Xarelto when taken alongside Plavix and aspirin would have changed their prescribing decisions.
Russell’s legal team, meanwhile, focused on evidence that Bayer and Janssen had designed a clinical study about the risks of taking Xarelto, Plavix and aspirin in tandem — a treatment plan referred to as triple therapy — to involve plaintiffs on a lower dose of Xarelto than Russell was receiving.
They made the decision, Russell’s lawyers argued, because they knew that a standard 20-milligram dose presented too great of a risk.
Russell’s lawyers also pointed to internal company emails showing that, when the drug was undergoing initial approvals in 2011 and 2012, executives opted to “stay silent” on a recommended dosage for patients who were also receiving antiplatelet medication.
In addition to dodging two cases in Philadelphia County, Bayer and Janssen have also notched defense verdicts in each of three Xarelto-related injury cases to go to trial as part of a federal multidistrict litigation program centered in Louisiana.
Brian Barr, an attorney with Levin Papantonio representing Russell, said he was disappointed in the verdict but said he believed in the overall strength of the claims Bayer and Janssen are still facing over the drug in both state and federal courts around the country.
“Yeah, we’re disappointed, but it doesn’t change anything. We just tee up the next one,” he said. “There’s still 20,000 cases pending, and they’re in various stages of discovery. The theory that we tried here as a theory that hadn’t been tried before, and who knows why the jury found what they found, maybe we’ll find that out one day, but it’s not going to stop us from moving forward."
Russell is represented by Brian Barr of Levin Papantonio, Laura Feldman of Feldman & Pinto PC, and Michael Weinkowitz and Frederick Longer of Levin Sedran & Berman.
The defendants are represented by Brian Stekloff of Wilkinson Walsh & Eskovitz, Sheila Boston of Arnold & Porter and Tarek Ismail of Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP.
The case is Daniel Russell et al. v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. et al., case number 150500362, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. -
Philadelphia Jury Hands Defense Win in Trial Over Xarelto
Apr 27, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer
By Max Mitchell
A Philadelphia jury has handed up a defense verdict in favor of Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, finding that the label on the blood thinner Xarelto adequately warned patients about the danger of severe bleeds.
The jury, deliberating in the second Xarelto trial to come before a Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas jury, rendered its verdict Friday morning, after more than two weeks of trial and about two days of deliberation.
Attorneys for plaintiff Daniel Russell had argued that the company failed to warn doctors and the medical community about the risks of taking Xarelto, especially in conjunction with other anticoagulant medication, but the jury answered only the first question on the verdict sheet, finding that the medication’s label was adequate.
The jury handed up the fourth defense verdict in Xarelto litigation in state and federal courts. A $28 million plaintiff’s verdict from a Philadelphia state court jury earlier this year was set aside by the trial judge.
In statements Friday morning, the companies said the wins highlight the safety of the drug and adequacy of the warning label.
“Bayer and Janssen have had successful outcomes for all five cases that have gone to trial, and the defense verdict in this trial underscores again the safety and efficacy of this life-saving medicine, and the accuracy of Xarelto’s science-based, FDA-approved label,” Bayer spokeswoman Carolyn Nagle said. “Plaintiffs’ attorneys in these cases have presented multiple theories regarding the alleged inadequacy of the Xarelto label, and all of their claims ultimately have been rejected under applicable laws.”
Janssen spokeswoman Sarah Freeman said, “The jury’s decision reflects the appropriateness of the FDA-approved labeling for Xarelto.”
“At Janssen, nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of the patients who use our medicines,” Freeman said. “We stand behind the safety and efficacy of Xarelto and will continue to defend against the allegations made in this litigation.”
The trial team for the defense was Washington-based Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz attorney Brian Stekloff and Sheila Boston of Arnold & Porter in New York. Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor attorney Brian Barr, who is based in Pensacola, Florida, and Laura Feldman of Feldman & Pinto in Philadelphia represented the plaintiff.
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