Up to 50% of compensation claims made by people alleging that a
commonly prescribed
diabetes drug caused heart attacks are believed to have been
settled, Deutsche Bank has said.
Deutsche Bank analyst Mark Clark said a large proportion of the
claims surrounding GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia product had been
settled prior to the first product liability case which will go to
court in the US in October.
The pharmaceutical giant refused to comment of the number of
claims settled or the amount of money involved, but confirmed that
it has already shelled out some £40 million in the past month alone
in order to settle about 700 lawsuits.
Mr Clark said any further costs arising from the issue should be
covered by the firm's legal fighting fund.
"This implies that close to half of the cases have now been
settled and should ease some fears about Vioxx-type liabilities,"
he said of the latest round of payouts.
Initial estimates from within the industry put the total number
of claims as high as 13,000 as fears were raised about the health
implications of the drug in the US.