Judge Orders Settlement Talks After Large Jury Verdicts In Androgel Lawsuits

Several very large jury verdicts against the makers of Androgel, AbbVie, caused the U.S. District Judge in charge of Federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) in a number of Androgel trials to order the parties involved to attend a conference in early November to talk about settlement negotiation status.

AbbVie Ordered to Pay Punitive and Compensatory Damages in First Two Bellwether Trials

The order, by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois, was occasioned by two large jury awards in bellwether trials.

This past July, a trial jury indicated that AbbVie should pay $150 million in punitive damages because it recklessly ignored user safety. Last month, the jury in a separate bellwether also ruled against AbbVie, with $140 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

The bellwether program started with AbbVie as defendant, as it is the maker of the most widely used drug for testosterone replacement.

More than 6,500 Testosterone Lawsuits Pending

Right now, over 6,500 suits have been filed against manufacturers of testosterone replacement therapy, including Androgel, Testim, and Axiron. Androgel lawsuits and the suits against other testosterone products make similar claims: that the manufacturers did not sufficiently warn patients or medical personnel about the medication’s risk of causing patients to have heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, and other health concerns.

The testosterone lawsuits were centralized in an MDL for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings. Judge Kennelly set up a bellwether trial, with small groups of cases planned throughout the rest of this year and next against each drug manufacturer.

AbbVie is expected to appeal the verdicts in both cases. A third bellwether is slated to start against Auxilium Pharmaceuticals the first week in November. Auxilium is the maker of Testim.

Further “Testosterone Replacement Therapy Lawsuit” Resources:

1. Charlier, Tom. “Collierville Man Awarded $140 Million in Lawsuit Over Testosterone Drug AndroGel.” Commercial Appeal. October 10, 2017. http://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2017/10/10/collierville-man-140-million-lawsuit-testosterone-drug-androgel/749267001/
2. Scholnick, John N.  “Who Won?” The Verdict in the Androgel Trial.” National Law Review. July 26, 2017. https://www.natlawreview.com/article/who-won-verdict-androgel-trial