Sanofi Denied Summary Judgment in 2nd Taxotere Bellwether Case Set for Trial

NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana federal judge overseeing the Taxotere multidistrict litigation docket has denied Sanofi Aventis US LLC’s motion for summary judgment in a case set for trial, finding it failed to present “clear evidence” that the FDA would have rejected a warning of permanent alopecia in the “Adverse Reactions” section of the cancer drug’s label.

In the Dec. 18 order, Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana concluded, therefore, that bellwether plaintiff Elizabeth Kahn’s claims for failure to warn and negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation are not preempted by federal law.