Calif. State Judge Throws Out $6.5 Million Actos Verdict

LOS ANGELES — A California state judge has thrown out a $6.5 million verdict awarded to a man who accused Takeda Pharmaceuticals Inc. of failing to adequately warn that its diabetes drug Actos may cause bladder cancer.

On May 1, Judge Kenneth Freeman of the Los Angeles County Superior Court granted Takeda’s prior motion for nonsuit, finding the plaintiffs’ causation expert lacked a reliable foundation to opine that Actos caused Jack Cooper’s bladder cancer.

The jury on April 26 awarded Jack Cooper $5 million in compensatory damages and $1.5 million to Cooper’s wife Nancy on her loss of consortium claim. …