Elmiron Vision Loss Trial Postponed To March 2023

Introduction

The first bellwether trial has been postponed until March 2023 by the United States District Judge presiding over all federal Elmiron vision loss lawsuits.

Elmiron (pentosan polysulfate sodium) is a prescription medication used to treat interstitial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome. Because there is no cure for the underlying condition, users often take it for years. However, there are now over 1,700 lawsuits being pursued by former Elmiron users who have been left with a rare type of eye problem known as pigmentary maculopathy, which results in progressive vision loss, blurry vision, distorted vision, difficulty adapting to dim light, and other symptoms from retinal damage.

Each of the lawsuits alleges that Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen Pharmaceuticals subsidiary provided false and misleading information about the Elmiron vision side effects for decades, and failed to warn doctors about the importance of monitoring for vision changes while taking the bladder drug, which can cause users to have a permanent blurry or distorted vision, as well as blindness.

Given the common factual and legal issues raised in claims filed throughout the federal court system, an Elmiron MDL was established in December 2020, centralizing the litigation before a U.S. district judge in the District of New Jersey for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

The judge has established a "bellwether" process in the MDL, where a small group of representative cases are being prepared to go before juries to help the parties evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of their claims and promote potential Elmiron settlement negotiations.

It was stated early in the litigation that the first Elmiron lawsuits would be heard by juries in January 2023. However, the Court announced this week that the first case will be delayed for at least two months.

An attorney-filed complaint was chosen earlier this year as the first bellwether trial, involving allegations that a Louisiana woman developed retinal pigmentary changes, including macular degeneration, about two years after starting Elmiron.

The trial date for the lawsuit will now begin on March 27, 2023, according to a court order issued on October 24. The order directs the parties to meet and confer before submitting an amended case management order detailing how the change will impact other scheduled deadlines in preparing the case for trial.

According to the most recent docket report (PDF) issued by the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) on October 14, 2022, there are currently at least 1,784 complaints pending before the judge, and the size of the litigation continues to grow as new Elmiron lawsuits are filed by former users diagnosed with vision problems.

In addition to the attorney's claim, two other Elmiron bellwether claims were chosen from the initial group of 20 cases that went through case-specific discovery and are also scheduled to go before a jury in 2023. However, it is unclear how the current case's delay will affect these Elmiron trial dates.

Following the Elmiron bellwether trials, it is expected that the judge will expand the number of claims being prepared for trial and consider remanding large waves of claims to U.S. District Courts nationwide for separate trial dates in 2024 and 2025 if the parties fail to make progress with settlement negotiations or the drug maker fails to establish that it can consistently defend the safety of the drug at trial.

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