PPI Litigation Plaintiffs Urge Early Bellwether Trial Dates

PPI Litigation Plaintiffs Urge Early Bellwether Trial Dates

Introduction

With the expected rise in the size of the proton pump inhibitor MDL litigation and chances of the number doubling or even tripling in the coming years, the Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel submitted a written request on April 27 before presiding U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to select a group of cases to go for early trial within the next two years, starting in February 2020.

The defendants named in the PPI kidney injury litigation are AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Procter & Gamble Co., McKesson Corp., Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., Pfizer Inc., and Pfizer subsidiary Wyeth.

In August 2017, the PPI lawsuits were centralized in the District of New Jersey before Judge Claire C. Cecchi for coordinated pretrial proceedings as a part of MDL No. 2789 (In Re:  Proton-Pump Inhibitor Products Liability Litigation [No. II]).

More than 650 Nexium, Prilosec, Protonix, and Prevacid lawsuits involving over 4,000 claims have been filed against the defendant PPI drug manufacturers in the federal court system, each raising similar allegations that long-term use of the medications resulted in chronic kidney disease, renal failure, or other kidney problems.