Jury orders Bayer, J&J to pay $28 million in Xarelto lawsuit

A Philadelphia state court jury on Tuesday ordered Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson to pay $27.8 million to an Indiana couple over the drugmakers’ failure to warn of internal bleeding risks by its blockbuster drug Xarelto.

The jury slapped the companies, which jointly developed the blood thinner, with $1.8 million in compensatory and $26 million in punitive damages, according to the couple’s lawyer.

The verdict marks the first trial loss in litigation over Xarelto. Bayer and J&J have won three previous cases in federal court.