Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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The Wall Street Journal - August 15, 1996
Thomas M. Burton, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
Judge John F. Grady granted preliminary approval to the settlement between hemophiliacs and manufacturers Bayer AG, Baxter International Inc., Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc.'s Armour Pharmaceutical Co. division and the Alpha Therapeutic Corp. unit of Green Cross Corp. of Japan. Various producers already have agreed to settlements of the hemophilia cases in other countries, most recently in Japan.
The U.S. settlement originally called for a total fund of $640 million, with payments that theoretically could shrink if more people signed up to participate than had been predicted. However, the companies now have agreed that the fund could increase if such an eventuality occurred, though they have said they don't expect this to take place. Spouses, family members and survivors are eligible to participate. The court ordered that a formal notice of the agreement be widely disseminated.
At issue in the litigation were cases of AIDS and HIV contracted through medications called Factor VIII and Factor IX, which hemophiliacs take to make their blood clot. Between 6,000 and 10,000 American hemophiliacs are estimated to have gotten the virus from the clotting factors, of whom about 3,000 have died. The hemophiliacs contend the companies sold the products after they knew AIDS was bloodborne, but the companies say most people were infected before enough was known about the cause of AIDS.
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