Saturday, January 28, 2012 - Judge David Herndon, the federal judge in the Pradaxa Products Liability Litigation (MDL No. 2385, United States District Court, Southern District of Illinois) issued a new order in the Pradaxa lawsuit that will compel the maker of Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to provide all evidence requested by the plaintiffs‘ Pradaxa lawsuit discovery motions, which will include information regarding any other lawsuits containing allegations that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. conducted off label promotion or over promotion of its products. Pradaxa, an anticoagulant approved by the FDA in 2010 to prevent stroke in people with atrial fibrillation, was originally marketed as a safer alternative to warfarin. After the company acknowledged hundreds of internal bleeding deaths having occurred from March of 2008 to October of 2011, at which time the FDA began an investigation into Pradaxa internal bleeding risks, resulting in additional labeling requirements on Pradaxa packaging warning of internal bleeding risks beginning in January of 2012.
This was the second significant court ruling in the plaintiffs favor in the Pradaxa lawsuit. The judge issued a Case Management Order in October 2012 requiring the participation in the Pradaxa litigation of the German Boehringer Ingelheim entities that were involved in the production of the drug. The latest Case Management Order in the Pradaxa lawsuit also requires Boehringer Ingelheim to produce information regarding the recently settled whistleblower action with the federal government that arose out of Boehringer Ingelheim‘s illegal off label promotions and illegal kickbacks in the marketing of four other drugs, which resulted in the company paying $95 million fines, amongst other penalties and sanctions.
The Onder Law Firm‘s pharmaceutical division Pradaxa lawyers are offering a free case review with no further obligation to the families of persons who experienced severe internal bleeding after using Pradaxa. All Pradaxa claims are being handled on a contingency basis with no cost to the client unless they successfully win compensation for them.
Additionally, The Onder Law Firm invites other law firms to consult on Pradaxa lawsuits, and is available either to handle their cases or work as co-counsel.