Bayer, Johnson & Johnson To Pay $775 Mln To Settle Xarelto Lawsuits

(RTTNews) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Bayer (BAYZF.PK) on Monday said they have agreed to settle more than 25,000 U.S. lawsuits involving their blockbuster blood thinner Xarelto for a total of $775 million.

The settlement will be split evenly between the two companies. The agreement resolves all pending state and federal cases in which plaintiffs sued the companies for failing to warn about potentially fatal bleeding episodes when patients took the drug.

Bayer in a statement on Monday said it continues to believe the claims are without merit. "However, this favorable settlement allows the company to avoid the distraction and significant cost of continued litigation," the company said.

J&J in a statement said it continued to believe in the safety of Xarelto, but that the settlement was the right thing to do for patients and their doctors.

Xarelto is Bayer's best-selling drug. It generated 3.6 billion euros in revenue to the German group's pharmaceutical business last year.