On March 27, 2019, the initial Case Management Conference for the Valsartan MDL was held in the District of New Jersey before the Honorable Robert B. Kugler. At the time that the cases were consolidated before Judge Kugler, for pretrial purposes, in February 2019, there were approximately 40 cases filed, but we expect thousands of cases to be filed over the next couple years.
On July 13, 2018, the FDA alerted health care professionals and the public about the voluntary recall of several drugs that contained valsartan (used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure). The recall was due to the discovery of an impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which had been found in the recalled drugs. The allegation is that some of the patients who took these recalled drugs will develop certain types of cancer.
There has been no decision regarding whether irbesartan and losartan, will be included in this MDL.
As of the part of the initial conference, Judge Kugler entered Case Management Order. No. 2, ordering monthly, in-person, status conferences to discuss the progression of the litigation. An additional monthly teleconference will be held. Plaintiffs’ Leadership is expected to be identified by the next conference on April 24, 2019.