September 13, 2002 - 4,000 Plaintiffs Denied Class Action Status in Rezulin Case

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A U.S. District Court judge in New York denied class action status for 4,000 plaintiffs suing Pfizer Inc. over the diabetes drug Rezulin. In his ruling, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said that differing circumstances and injuries made a single class action lawsuit unfeasible. Plaintiffs' lawyers were seeking reimbursement for money spent to purchase Rezulin prescriptions and the establishment of a medical monitoring program for anyone who had taken the medication. Individual suits may still be filed against Pfizer. The U.S. Food and Drug Association removed Rezulin from the market in 2000 after dozens of cases of liver failure were reported. Since its removal, the drug has been linked to hundreds of deaths worldwide.

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