OSAKA (Kyodo) The Osaka District Court on Friday ordered the Japan unit of British drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC to pay ¥60.5 million to nine out of 11 plaintiffs who demanded compensation over side effects caused by the lung cancer drug Iressa.
The three-judge panel, however, turned down the plaintiffs' demand that the government pay the damages jointly with Osaka-based AstraZeneca K.K., which is 80 percent owned by its British parent and the remaining 20 percent by Sumitomo Chemical Co.
The 11 plaintiffs had sought a total of ¥104.5 million in damages from the government and AstraZeneca.