Teva Settles Propofol Hepatitis C Lawsuits for $285M

New York, NY: Teva Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Propofol, will settle 120 personal injury lawsuits arising from a hepatitis C outbreak in Southern Nevada, for a reported $285 million. The Israeli-based generic drug maker was facing lawsuits brought by some 150 former patients of The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada and its sister clinics, who contracted the disease after receiving propofol at the clinics.

According to a report in the Las Vegas Review Journal, nine hepatitis C cases were found to be linked to the clinics which were run by Dr. Dipak Desai. Seven of the nine cases were genetically linked to the center. Health officials called another 106 cases "possibly linked." According to health officials, more than 60,000 former clinic patients were potentially exposed to hepatitic C because of unsafe injection practices by nurse anesthetists at the clinics.

Teva lost the first three trials and was facing payments of nearly $800 million dollars in compensatory and punitive damages. The fourth trial was under way when settlement talks began in earnest. The settlement leaves 15 lawsuits unresolved.

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Published on Feb-22-12