Global Settlement announced before Axiron Bellwether Trial Begins

Global Settlement announced before Axiron Bellwether Trial Begins

Introduction

Axiron bellwether trial dates, scheduled to begin on January 29 and March 5 this year, were vacated by the federal court after being informed by the counsels of the respective parties that a global settlement of all the claims was decided. The court further granted 45 days for the parties to finalize a Master Settlement Agreement.

Eli Lilly and Company, the maker of Axiron is one of the defendants of over 6,000 centralized testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) lawsuits belonging to MDL No. 2545 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois under U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly. Three bellwethers convened last year resulted in two wins for the plaintiffs totalling about $290 million to be paid by AndroGel maker AbbVie and one win for the Testim gel defendant Auxilium. Plaintiff attorneys are fighting for compensation on behalf of individuals who suffered a heart attack, stroke, blood clot or other injuries.

The court further released case management orders for the parties involved to prepare additional 82 cases to be ready for trial over the next two years. The first wave of 12 cases was to be selected by December 21 for August 1, 2018. The second wave of 24 cases is to be selected by February 1, 2018, and a third wave of 46 cases is to be selected by April 2, 2018. Additional waves are expected to be trial ready by January 1 and July 1 of 2019, respectively.