8th Cir.: Evidence Supported Plaintiff’s Verdict on Levaquin Failure-To-Warn Claim

MINNEAPOLIS — The evidence supported a Minnesota federal jury’s finding that Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: JNJ) failed to adequately warn that Levaquin poses a risk of tendon disorders in elderly patients taking corticosteroids, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled.

However, in a Nov. 30 opinion, the appellate court reversed the jury’s award of $1.1 million in punitive damages, ruling the evidence did not support a finding that the drug maker deliberately disregarded patients’ safety.

In February 2005, Dr. John Beecher prescribed Levaquin and a corticosteroid to John Schedin, who was then 76. Schedin suffered a rupture of …