The first Philadelphia Xarelto trial began as per schedule this November. The plaintiff, an Indiana woman, alleged she suffered serious internal bleeding while on Xarelto for treating Atrial fibrillation. Compensations have been demanded on the grounds that the drug manufacturer failed to warn the patients about the risks and the lack of treatment in cases of uncontrolled bleeding. The verdict for this mass tort may come in by close of this year. However, reports of witness tampering stalled the beginning of the litigation, which finally commenced later.
Nearly 1,300 additional lawsuits await trial in Philadelphia. Trials have already begun for the lawsuits, which are a part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL- 2592 Xarelto Products Liability Litigation) in Louisiana federal court where over 18,000 cases have been filed. The verdicts for the first three trials were in favor of the defendants who support a strong argument that in spite of them asking the FDA to make changes in the warning label, the FDA stated that it was not necessary.
Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) is an oral anticoagulant, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals that was approved by the FDA in July 2011 in the United States.
