Japan drugmaker Takeda to fight $6 billion damages imposed by U.S. jury

By Daniel Levine and Edmund Klamann SAN FRANCISCO/TOKYO (Reuters) – Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said it would contest $6 billion in punitive damages imposed by a U.S. federal jury in a case alleging that Japan’s largest drugmaker had concealed cancer risks associated with its Actos diabetes drug. Eli Lilly and Co, Takeda’s co-defendant in the case, was ordered to pay $3 billion in punitive damages. “We intend to vigorously challenge this outcome through all available legal means, including possible post-trial motions and an appeal,” Kenneth Greisman, general counsel of Takeda Pharmaceutical USA Inc, said in a statement. The massive award was met with “stunned silence” in the packed Lafayette, Louisiana, courtroom, plaintiffs’ lawyer Mark Lanier said.