A federal judicial panel has transferred more than 200 cases to New Jersey involving heartburn medications Nexium and Prilosec just six months after it refused a similar request.
In a notably lengthy opinion, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation acknowledged that the litigation over so-called proton pump inhibitor drugs had grown from the 39 cases when it initially rejected a motion to coordinate on Feb. 2. The panel, which heard arguments on the renewed request and other MDL motions last month, noted that the primary defendants now supported transfer despite opposing it earlier this year.
