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Pradaxa Manufacturer Pays $650 Million for US Lawsuit Settlement

 

Boehringer Ingelheim, the manufacturing company of the blood thinning agent Pradaxa, announced that it has agreed to pay $650 million to settle lawsuits in the United States. Pradaxa lawsuits had been mounting against the company that alleged injuries related to the company’s failure to warn patients that the blood-thinning anticoagulant carried significant risks.

Levin, Papantonio attorneys Ned McWilliams and Bill Cash participated in the general liability phase of the case. This effort included document review and the deposition of key players at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Mike Papantonio was responsible for the deposition of individuals with the company, including a Director of Marketing and the clinical trial monitor, that were critical to the announcement today.

In the United States, approximately 3,800 claimants had filed suit against Boehringer Ingelheim. Those lawsuits alleged injuries of hemorrhage, internal bleeding, stroke, and even death. These injuries and the company’s efforts to warn patients of them have been the subject of much media scrutiny recently.

The New York Times, in February of this year, published an article discussing documents that had been produced as part of the litigation. Those documents, discussed at length by the Times, detailed conversations that the company had regarding the safety of the drug.

Regarding the publication of a study that suggested there may have been a need for increased monitoring with Pradaxa:

“This publication will more harm than be useful for us, neither in the market but be especially harmful in the discussions with regulatory bodies,” one email read. “Can’t this be avoided?”

Pradaxa was originally targeted as a replacement for the drug Warfarin. However, Pradaxa has no antidote. Should a patient’s dosage of Warfarin require antidote, vitamin K can be administered and the drug’s effects will be counteracted.

Boehringer Ingelheim admitted no wrongdoing related to the litigation and cites that the reason for the settlement was to avoid a long and costly litigation process.

Republished with the permission of the author.

Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. You can follow him on Twitter @Joshual33.

 
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