LONDON—After last summer having resolved roughly two-third of 26,000 lawsuits against it regarding claims that its antipsychotic drug Seroquel causes diabetes, AstraZeneca has reportedly agreed to pay $150 million to settle more lawsuits. This puts the total payout for settlements at nearly $350 million, reportedly, after the August payout of roughly $198 million.
The drug is the company's second-biggest-selling medication (cholesterol-reducing drug Crestor being the top seller), with 2010 sales of $5.3 billion.
According to sources close to the matter who are speaking anonymously to the media, this will resolve about 6,000 cases that allege AstraZeneca knew Seroquel could cause diabetes and failed to adequately warn patients.
This settlement should now leave the company with just under 4,000 remaining U.S. product-liability claims for Seroquel, according to a regulatory filing, "that have not been settled in principle."
Also hitting AstraZeneca's bottom line is the $738 million it had paid to defend Seroquel as of December 2010. Furthermore, the company agreed last year to pay $520 million to resolve U.S. allegations that it illegally marketed Seroquel for unapproved uses.
The drug is the company's second-biggest-selling medication (cholesterol-reducing drug Crestor being the top seller), with 2010 sales of $5.3 billion.
According to sources close to the matter who are speaking anonymously to the media, this will resolve about 6,000 cases that allege AstraZeneca knew Seroquel could cause diabetes and failed to adequately warn patients.
This settlement should now leave the company with just under 4,000 remaining U.S. product-liability claims for Seroquel, according to a regulatory filing, "that have not been settled in principle."
Also hitting AstraZeneca's bottom line is the $738 million it had paid to defend Seroquel as of December 2010. Furthermore, the company agreed last year to pay $520 million to resolve U.S. allegations that it illegally marketed Seroquel for unapproved uses.
