9th Cir. Reverses Summary Judgment Award to Teva in Purinethol Cancer Action

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court has reversed an award of summary judgment to Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a case in which plaintiffs allege their son’s cancer was caused by combining Purinethol with Remicade or Humira, finding the trial court erred in excluding the testimony of the plaintiffs’ causation experts.

On June 2, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found the trial court “looked too narrowly at each individual consideration, without taking into account the broader picture of the experts’ overall methodology.” The appellate court further found questions of fact as to whether the decedent’s physician would have …