Elias LLC’s efforts in securing a federal multidistrict consolidation of Tasigna cases was recently featured in several articles.
Law360 published an article about the consolidation, noting:
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Tuesday centralized 18 suits alleging that Novartis Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s blood cancer drug Tasigna causes cardiovascular disease, finding that more suits over the drug are likely to crop up.
The panel issued an order centralizing the cases in the Middle District of Florida, rejecting Novartis’ argument that there weren’t enough actions to warrant the move. As of Tuesday, there were 18 suits and two potential tag-along actions over the drug in 13 different districts, according to the order.
But counsel for the plaintiffs said they’re reviewing more than 200 potential new cases, the panel said. And 186 case have been lodged in New Jersey state court, it noted.
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[Richard] Elias told Law360 on Tuesday that the panel “recognized that these cases are screaming for coordination, and aptly dismissed Novartis’s arguments to the contrary.”
“The consolidation order helps ensure that these cases will reach a swift and just conclusion,” he said.
Reuters also published an article, writing:
Tasigna was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of a form of leukemia. Plaintiffs suing Novartis have alleged that the company failed to warn that the drug can cause atherosclerosis, a disease marked by thickening and hardening of arteries that can lead to stroke, heart attack and other injuries.
More than 180 lawsuits have been consolidated in New Jersey state court for pretrial proceedings. The JPML transferred 18 federal lawsuits over the drug to a new [multidistrict litigation] before U.S. District Judge Roy Dalton of the Middle District of Florida.
“All actions can be expected to share factual questions arising from allegations that Novartis failed to appropriately warn of the risks that use of Tasigna may cause severe atherosclerotic injuries,” the panel wrote.
It said the number of state court cases suggested more actions were likely to be filed in the future and that actions had so far been filed in 13 districts. The panel rejected Novartis’ proposal that the actions could be coordinated as “labor-intensive and inefficient.”
“With the federal consolidation, coupled with the recent consolidation of nearly 200 Tasigna cases in New Jersey state court, the global Tasigna litigation is positioned for an efficient and just resolution.,” Richard Elias of Elias LLC, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an email.