As a result of the oral arguments heard last month, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) issued a transfer order last week affirming that all valsartan recall lawsuits in nationwide District Courts will be consolidated before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler in the District of New Jersey for coordinated pretrial proceedings. The multidistrict litigation will include class action claims as well as individual injury claims filed by individuals who alleged they developed cancer due to the exposure to the contaminated blood pressure medicine.
Dozens of claims are filed against Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Company of China, following recent valsartan recalls for generic tablets, which were reported to have carcinogenic impurities like N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) linked to liver cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer, and other digestive tract cancers. Each lawsuit raised allegations that despite being aware of the defective and dangerous nature of the blood pressure drug, the defendants took no preventive measures to warn the consumers. A motion was filed last October with the U.S. JPML, requesting for the establishment of a federal valsartan recall MDL. Centralization of the cases before one judge will help reduce duplicative discovery, contradictory pretrial rulings, and will be convenient for the common witnesses, parties and the judicial system. Product liability lawsuits are part of multidistrict litigation (MDL No.2875; In Re: Valsartan N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) Contamination Products Liability Litigation).
