TRENTON, N.J. — AstraZeneca PLC’s blockbuster psychiatric drug Seroquel did not trigger diabetes in a Vietnam veteran, a jury ruled yesterday in the first trial out of thousands of cases alleging the powerful drug caused diabetes.
The British drug maker said a jury in Middlesex County Superior Court in New Jersey voted 7 to 1 in favor of the company, after deliberating for seven hours over the past two days.
The case was brought by Ted Baker, 61, who developed diabetes after taking Seroquel for about three years and blamed it on the drug. Baker, of Bastrop, La., took Seroquel from 2001 through 2006 for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. He was diagnosed with diabetes in 2004.
“The jury found . . . that AstraZeneca’s Seroquel label provided prescribing doctors adequate warning with respect to the risk of diabetes,’’ said Arthur Brown, outside counsel for AstraZeneca.
Perry Weitz, head of the Weitz & Luxenberg firm, which represented Baker, said his attorneys are reviewing possible grounds for appeal.
Seroquel brought in $4.9 billion last year, making it the company’s second-best seller.
