Dive Brief:
- Takeda and Eli Lilly are facing thousands of claims over cancer risks associated with Actos (pioglitazone), which is used to treat diabetes. Takeda has been trying to settle the suits with a $2.3 billion offer—but it was unclear if enough of the claimants would get on board to trigger the settlement.
- Now, Takeda has announced that it has signed up 96% of claimants and settled seven of nine cases that have already gone to trial, FiercePharma reports. The company also said that it would hike the settlement by an additional $100 million so long as 97% of claims actually meet the criteria for the settlement.
- Takeda has also settled many of the roughly 8,000 cases pending in state and federal courts.
Dive Insight:
Takeda has taken several serious hits recently, but the new CEO, Christophe Weber, is trying to turn things around.
Part of this turnaround effort involved the Actos settlement offer, which he made in April. As Takeda has attempted to settle the Actos claims once and for all, there have been a few serious setbacks, including a case in Louisiana in which the jury levied a $9 billion verdict—an amount that even the judge considered excessive, leading him to slash the payout by 99%. Nonetheless, this case has dogged Takeda, which reported a slight loss last year.
In addition, a judge recently struck down Takeda's multiple myeloma patent for Velcade (bortezemib). As a $2.8 billion drug, Velcade has been a major stablizing force financially for Takeda, but now the drug is open to genericization. Regardless of the bad news, Takeda is clear and focused about how to handle the Actos claims: Settle them and move on to expandind the pipeline to bolster revenue.