Rezulin: From Miracle Drug to Mass Tort

How a medical breakthrough for diabetics turned into a litigation battleground

icWendichen the FDA gave drug maker Warner-Lambert the OK to begin marketing Rezulin in January 1997, it was hailed as a miracle.

photo-1The drug, which had been in development since the early part of the decade, appeared to be a saving grace for Type 2 diabetics who had, with little prior success, attempted to control their blood sugar levels. Benefits ranging from Rezulin's possible effect on heart failure rates and the prevention of diabetes in some patients had also begun to emerge in the earliest days of the …