N.Y. Federal Judge Dismisses 24 Eliquis Cases, Says Design Defect, Warning Claims Preempted

NEW YORK — The New York federal judge overseeing the Eliquis multidistrict litigation docket has dismissed 24 actions, ruling the failure-to-warn and design defect claims are preempted by federal law.

In a Nov. 29 order, Judge Denise Cote of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found the plaintiffs failed to present evidence that Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Inc. could unilaterally have changed the Eliquis label to include additional warnings.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation created an MDL docket for all federal Eliquis actions on Feb. 7 and transferred them to the Southern District …