Takeda Jury Told of ‘Reckless’ Handling of Diabetes Drug
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Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.’s efforts to hide the cancer risks of its Actos diabetes medicine showed a “reckless disregard” for patient safety and a drive to protect billions of dollars in sales, a lawyer told jurors in the first federal trial over the medication.
Takeda executives’ failure for at least seven years to provide specific warnings that research showed the drug was linked to bladder cancer wasn’t an accident or oversight, Mark Lanier, a lawyer for former Actos user Terrence Allen, told a jury in Lafayette, Louisiana, in closing arguments today. Allen, a former shopkeeper from New York, blamed Actos for his cancer and is seeking millions of dollars in compensation.