King & Spalding Served as National Coordinating Counsel in Allegations that Medication Caused Diabetes

King & Spalding served as national coordinating counsel for AstraZeneca, overseeing lawsuits involving over a thousand plaintiffs who alleged that treatment with the statin Crestor® caused or contributed to their development of diabetes.  As national coordinating counsel, King & Spalding prepared a White Paper analyzing the medical and epidemiological literature with respect to statins and new-onset diabetes and developed expert witnesses who performed a meta-analysis of data from the randomized controlled trials involving Crestor®, which showed no statistically significant increased risk for new-onset diabetes when compared to a placebo.   We secured a favorable resolution of all the claims by applying pressure to the plaintiffs through early discovery of their claims and successful motion practice, including a forum non conveniens motion which dismissed 747 non-California resident plaintiffs’ claims without prejudice to them re-filing in their home states, and a summary judgment motion which dismissed 30 California plaintiffs’ claims for their failure to produce prima facie evidence of exposure to Crestor® and subsequent injury.