Representatives in Valsartan MDL Have Standing to Represent Out-Of-State Plaintiffs, Judge Rules

CAMDEN, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge has ruled that class representatives in the MDL for cases alleging contamination of valsartan-containing blood pressure drugs have standing to represent out-of-state plaintiffs, revising an earlier ruling that the representatives lack such standing.

On April 5, Judge Robert B. Kugler of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey also denied plaintiffs’ motion to amend their master complaints to add negligence claims against the wholesaler and pharmacy defendants, ruling they had no duty to investigate the drugs’ manufacturing process.

Valsartan, losartan and irbesartan are prescription drugs primarily used for the …