Trial Dates Set in Xarelto Bellwether

On October 22, 2015, U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon, of the Eastern District of Louisiana, announced the dates for four bellwether trials in the Xarelto multidistrict litigation, the first of which will take place on February 6, 2017.

Xarelto is the second-most popular blood thinning medication in the United States–generating billions of dollars in revenue each year. Plaintiffs in the consolidate litigation allege that defendants, Janssen Research & Development, Johnson & Johnson and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, over-promoted the drug as a safe and convenient alternative to the anticoagulant manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb called Coumadin. In particular, the Defendants marketed Xarelto by asserting that, unlike other blood thinners, Xarelto required minimal adjustments and blood monitoring.

However, Defendants failed to warn patients that unlike Coumadin, which can be counteracted by vitamin K, there is no antidote to the anticoagulation effects of Xarelto.

The scheduling of the Xarelto MDL bellwether trials came shortly after the announcement of a non-related Xarelto suit filed on October 8, 2015 in Philadelphia state court. The plaintiff in that case alleges that the drug does not work for as long as the manufacturer states it does, which leaves patients with no protection against blood clots for a certain period of time. Plaintiff contends that as a result of the deficiencies in Xarelto’s dosages, he suffered an ischemic stroke.

The case is: In re: Xarelto (rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, No. 2592.

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