The company's annual report on SEC Form 10-K was filed through the EDGAR virtual window, tonight. Do go read it all -- cover to cover. [Just kidding -- unless you are serious about managing your investments, that is.]
And, as a result of active case management motions by Merck's legal team -- designed to eliminate and dismiss cases pending on behalf of plaintiffs -- where the plaintiffs' expert medical testimony "doesn't fit the facts" that have been ruled (as a matter of law), to be the sole vehicle for recovery that may be argued to a jury -- the numbers have fallen dramatically. [As a point of reference, last year's similarly-measured decline was only 70 cases -- this year it is 550 cases.]
While the finasteride MDL is not remotely the most important litigation Merck faces, many of our readers regularly inquire about updates on it. So here is that annual update, below, from pages 103 and 104 of the filing:
. . . .As previously disclosed, Merck is a defendant in product liability lawsuits in the United States involving Propecia and/or Proscar. As of December 31, 2017, approximately 775 lawsuits have been filed by plaintiffs who allege that they have experienced persistent sexual side effects following cessation of treatment with Propecia and/or Proscar. Approximately 20 of the plaintiffs also allege that Propecia or Proscar has caused or can cause prostate cancer, testicular cancer or male breast cancer. The lawsuits have been filed in various federal courts and in state court in New Jersey.
The federal lawsuits have been consolidated for pretrial purposes in a federal multidistrict litigation before Judge Brian Cogan of the Eastern District of New York. The matters pending in state court in New Jersey have been consolidated before Judge Hyland in Middlesex County.
In addition, there is one matter pending in state court in California, one matter pending in state court in Ohio, and one matter on appeal in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The Company intends to defend against these lawsuits. . . .
Tomorrow, we will post on Kenilworth's enhanced risk factors, those drafted in response to the "Not Petya" cyber-attack (now known to have been caused by Russian state actors) of June 2017. Oh. and speaking of Russian influence -- Jared had his security clearance clipped, as of last Friday night. Do sleep well, all you pint-sized little defenders of freedom, and liberty -- it will fall to you, little ones, sooner than you might think. . . smile.
नमस्ते
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